Kabul Disco-truly enjoyable

Kabul Disco
by Nicholas Wild

Recently read Kabul Disco by Nicholas Wild. Kabul Disco is a truly enjoyable graphic novel. It is written in a diary style describing the experiences of a French illustrator in Kabul. Nicholas goes to Kabul for an assignment to work with Zendagui media, the company he joins. His assignment was to design and illustrate educational books for the Afghan children to recah them about constitutional rights. 85% Afghans are illeterate and hence Zendagui media, funded by U.N and U.S has come up with an ingenious idea of making the books in form of illustrative comics, where the knowledge imparted would be through graphics.
Very recently in my other blog (www.musingsofacine-buff.blogspot.com), i had mentioned about Iranian movies on Afghanistan. Two of the most remarkable ones were Kandahar(showing Afghanistan during Taliban reign) and At five in the afternoon (by Samira Makhmalbaf, post Taliban, war-torn Afghanistan). The latter one comes to your mind while reading this book. The ransacked buildings, children begging or employed under the most harsh conditions and completely robbed off their innocence while foreigners plan for their future. Of course, Kabul Disco is written in a much light-hearted manner and is completely deprived of the pathos of a war-worn nation. However, Nicholas in his sardonic tone manages to bring Afghanistan and its dilemma alive. In fact there is hardly any pretence when Nicholas' colleague, the conscientious Tristan refuses to visit the French restaurant (La joie de Vivre) or expresses discontent at the lifestyles of the bourgeois French expats staying in Kabul and enjoying their lives with theme parties and discos, while, the Afghans tormented by inflation, poverty, wars, disenfranchised Taliban wrath are struggling to survive. His reflections on U.S )"Its a game they like to play...cretaing new enemies and spending money and efforts in destroying them")just shows how well he understands the politics being played with the Afghan geography. At one point he refuses to be a part of the war-propaganda being designed-recruting Afghan boys for ANA, but finally acquiesces to. And it is this honesty that makes this graphic novel so enjoyable. We can relate to Nocholas easily. He like us is aware of the bourgeoise exploitation and snobbery, by creating their own circuit where the Afghans are either servants or guards, or mere rub-offs as working class and yet earning their living working in "Reconstructing Afghanistan"(while being completely insensitive to the nation's culture). However he himself prefers Joie de Vivre to a hot and spicy Kabul diner and feels funny to ever have tried to wear a "pakol."
Thus through simple, enjoyable black and white illustrations, we almost get a taste of "realpolitiks".
The most enjoyable part was his "quixotic representation" of Afghan Elections. The sheer absurdity of it where a war monger, an ex-taliban as well as a woman all contest with symbols just randomly selected for them while the media agency struggles hard preparing them for "democracy" will just knock you off.
Kabul Disco is an enjoyable read.
In fact, the last pages showing pages of his original project for Afghan children(educating them about their constitutional rights) through Yassin and Kakarouf instill enough interest in you to get hold of those books as well.
Waiting for his sequel to Kabul Disco.