The Bookseller of Kabul 11.24. 08

So yet it again appears that in some ways the lives of the women in this book lead the better lives. Unlike Fazil, they are not experiencing such pain and question. Nor are they experiencing the pure boredom, that Aimal, Sultan's youngest son experiences daily. Like many of Sultan's sons or brothers, Aimal is forced to work in a hotel shop. Everyday for twelve hours he works or rather sits in boredom. With the lack of demand for hotels in Kabul(among many other things), the once beautiful and popular hotel is now a quiet and sleepy business trying to stay alive. Working in a shop right in the middle of the lobby of a once thriving area pains Aimal. He remembers the days of the hotel being full of tourists and American journalists, willing to pay any price for the goodies inside. It was during this time that he would dream of becoming a big shot businessman. But once the war ended, the journalists left, once again leaving Aimal in his lonely stall.
I find it interesting that Seierstad chose to introduce these two sad, young boys into the book so close to the end, but at the same time I can kind of understand why. Although the boys might both lead very difficult lives, I think they have a bit of muffled hope lying in them. I think that Seierstad included the boys in her story because they are who she discovered along her journey of writing this novel but also perhaps saw them as motivational or wished to have their story closely be told.