Author to pay damages to wife of Bookseller of Kabul

'Norwegian court rules Åsne Seierstad's book breached privacy of the Bookseller's real-life spouse', writes Michelle Pauli.

A court in Norway has ordered Åsne Seierstad, author of the Afghanistan-set bestseller The Bookseller of Kabul, and her publisher, Cappelen Damm, to pay 250,000 kroner (£26,276) in damages to a woman portrayed in the book.

Oslo district court ruled that the Norwegian author and journalist, whose book was based on the three months she spent living with a bookseller and his family, had breached the privacy of Suraia Rais, wife of bookseller Shah Muhammad Rais, and included inaccurate information in her account.

"The information [in the book]about Rais's thoughts and feelings is sensitive," the Oslo district court ruled, according to a report in the Dagbladet newspaper. "They are attributed to her as true, and neither Seierstad nor Cappelen Damm can be considered to have acted in good faith to ensure they were correct and accurate." Seierstad's lawyer said he would be strongly encouraging his client and her publisher to appeal against the fine.'

Read more at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/27/asne-seierstad-the-bookseller-of-kabul-damages