mysterious man who was prepared to pay so much for his daughter. According to Sultan he even belonged to their tribe, in spite of their not being able to place him or remember that they had ever met him. ‘Tomorrow,’ said Sultan, ‘I will show you a picture of him.’ (Seierstad, 2008, p. 3)

Sultan’s deception as the trickster figure in Bookseller of Kabul is actually quite cunning and demonstrates an awareness to deceive and manipulate Sonya’s family so that he can achieve his outcome of marrying Sonya even though realistically he is not a match that Sonya wishes for as a husband:

She kissed his hand, in the custom of showing respect for an elder relative, and he blessed the top of her head with a kiss. Sonya was aware of the charged atmosphere and flinched under Uncle Sultan’s