Aug
19
A Book Betrays A Nation?
August 19, 2010 | 1 Comment
Not only does this case (see the article below) possibly mark the start of a new, international legal trend because it proves that people can be sued across borders, but what are the ramifications for the publishing world?
Is this author guilty of betraying a nation? Are the cultural differences on the two sides of this case so vast that fairness is virtually impossible to discern? Would there be a case at all if this book had not enjoyed massive critical and commercial success?
Bookseller of Kabul takes a novelistic approach to the personal history of a particular family. The key question this case should bring up for authors is: to what extent does privacy take precedence over storytelling? As I endeavor to document my own family’s story right now, this question burns constantly. Whose privacy am I treading upon, and do I “own” this story because I am a part of the family being written about? There are so many questions to be asked when we are dealing with “true” stories and real people, and I certainly do not have these answers. Yet I carry on with my writing task with the hope that no one will be hurt by the truth or by my incessant prodding for sensitive information.
Please add your your thoughts on this matter in our Comments section! Do you have experience writing biographical or autobiographical material, and if so, what issues came up for you as you wrote?
Brought to book: Kabul author guilty of ‘betraying’ a nation (The Guardian)
Writer of bestselling Bookseller of Kabul ordered to pay punitive damages and faces further lawsuits
The author of the publishing sensation The Bookseller of Kabul was found guilty of defamation and “negligent journalistic practices” last week after losing a case brought by a woman who claimed the bestseller depicted her in a humiliating, untruthful way that left her feeling “violated”.
Legal experts say the ruling by Oslo district court will transform the way in which western journalists and authors write about people from poor countries. Åsne Seierstad was ordered to pay more than £26,000 in punitive damages to Suraia Rais, the second wife of bookseller Shah Muhammad Rais, with whose family the Norwegian writer lived for five months while researching her book.
The saga may have some way to go. For yesterday, the rest of the Rais family revealed the full extent of their fury over a book they say is an insult not just to them but to the whole Afghan culture. Now that Suraia’s case has been accepted by the Norwegian judge, seven other members of the family have announced that they too will sue the author. Shah Muhammad Rais, his first wife, his mother, his two sons and his two daughters have already prepared their cases with the same lawyer who secured victory for Suraia. Seierstad and her publishers could find themselves back in the dock in two to three months’ time, facing further claims of up to £250,000…
For the complete article click here.
(Thanks goes to blogger and author Paula Delgado-Kling for bringing this case to my attention. Please check out Paula’s deeply thought-provoking blog Talking About Colombia, here.)
Comments
1 Comment so far
It seems to be about Point of View and Voice– the book was a best-seller because the author knew how Westerners would want to read this story. Then Afghans are angry because they feel their POV is misrepresented.
However, this saga seems to reek of opportunism: I’d be more understanding of people who don’t quite understand all the details when they let in a writer into their homes. But this guy was a bookseller!! He knows what a writer does!! He’s just pissed the book was a best-seller and wants his piece of the cake. Â Â