Seierstad was particularly surprised and pleased with the depth of questions by the students and their knowledge of subjects pertaining to Afghanistan and central Asia in general. At the Beijing Foreign Languages University she was delighted with the students of Norwegian language who demonstrated such a high level of proficiency in her native language that not a word of English or Chinese needed be spoken. Seierstad also visited Beijing Normal University.
Although Seierstad has penned several acclaimed works, the focus was almost exclusively on her most known title: The bookseller of Kabul. Students of literature were particularly interested to hear the philosophy behind the blend of journalism and story-telling that Seierstad chose for her book. She particularly emphasised the advantage of placing the storyteller firmly outside the narrative, leading to debate about the pros and cons of neutrality and activism. Seierstad explained that the aim of the book was to create a detached portrayal, faithful only to the accounts given by the main characters. However, when one student interjected that her role in the opening of a girl’s school in Afghanistan demonstrated an activist at heart, Seierstad gladly conceded the point.
The author also gave a vivid account of the events that led the discovery of the bookseller, including the image of the man tearing scraps of paper from books, which under Taliban’s strict rule had been used to censor all images. The germ of a story slowly evolved as Seierstad was invited to live with bookseller’s family and heard the account of his second marriage, which she instantly knew would be the opening words of the book.
The controversy surrounding the reaction of the bookseller to the story also raised significant interest as students struggled to grasp his misgivings, unless there were factual errors in Seierstad’s account. Seierstad firmly stated there were no such errors and that the bookseller’s complaints mainly concerned the approach of telling the story of the family, including the accounts of all its members, rather than the bookseller’s vision of his role in keeping literature alive throughout the years of Taliban rule.
When challenged on choosing “American” issues such as Afghanistan and Iraq over less high-profile events in a world not lacking in strife, Seierstad replied that she is first and foremost a journalist and it is her duty to be where the world spotlight is.
Seierstad also attracted a significant amount of press while in Beijing, with several in-depth interviews and a press conference arranged by her Chinese publisher. The latter attracted over 20 important local media outlets and demonstrated the wide appeal of Seierstad’s books. Seierstad was positively surprised by the familiarity with her work displayed by the Chinese press.
Seierstad is currently studying Arabic at Oslo University, to which she cheerfully announced she is the oldest student. She envisages a move to an Arabic country in the future, from which, perhaps, the germ of another captivating story will emerge.