Sultan initially is presented as a character who is passionate about literature or more so about educating the masses within the mainly illiterate Afghanistan community. He has spent a considerable amount of his lifetime protecting his legacy of Literature from fundamentalists and was keen to share his knowledge of tales and stories with the wider community, however as the novel develops, we ironically learn that his own son is not even educated, and his sole responsibility is to run his father’s beloved shop. Sultan is also a trickster figure and character who dominates the entire household including the rights and freedom of the male characters as well as the females within his control. Sultan: a pseudonym given to him by Seierstad to protect his identity is depicted as a man who is forced to live a life within a tight regimental lifestyle under the