The Afghans

'Åsne Seierstad is one of the greatest, most courageous journalists of our time. . . This is an important, heartbreaking book' - Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

In this compelling, intimate and thought-provoking new book from the internationally bestselling author of The Bookseller of Kabul, Åsne Seierstad introduces us to three unforgettable people living under the Taliban today. There is Jamila, a women's rights activist now based in the west who fought polio as a child and got an education when few women could; Bashir, a Taliban commander now living in luxury who grew up eager to avenge the martyrdom of a father killed by security forces; and Ariana, a law student who had nearly graduated when the Taliban regained power in 2021 and now is barred for her university campus and facing the prospect of an arranged marriage to a man she does not love.

The stories of these three Afghans encompass love, loss, revolt and war as well as the everyday rhythms of family life. Through them, we experience and come to understand what it is to live under the Taliban, and where this leaves Afghans today, and tomorrow.

'Harrowing, uplifting, fascinating, challenging and profound, no other recent book on the subject comes close' - CPW Gammell, author of The Pearl of Khorasan: A History of Herat