One thought on “The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul”

1. I HATE chick lit, to me it is not a genre, its an insult The rampant vapid female consumerism, frothy plots, whiny heroines and stereotypes drive me mad A Cup of Friendship or The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is not the worst kind of chick lit It does attempt to have an interesting storyline, an exotic but gritty setting and female characters who are not obsessed with shoes and brand names However, it is full of stereotypes, poorly fleshed out characters and implausible ending The plot constantly [...]

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2. This has to be one of the worst books I ve ever had the displeasure of reading I started reading it knowing it was written by an American woman who had spent many years in Afghanistan, so hoping the story would sound authentic not westernised I was wrong It is a westernised novel if you can call it that centred around an American woman looking to have fun in a foreign country If you re after a quick read something that doesn t make you think this is the one for you Personally, I think that anyon [...]

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3. Afghanistan has long been a place where wars are waged, power fought over, while its people are left uneducated, illiterate, and impoverished This is where Deborah Rodriguez has set her book, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, her fictional debut She has previously published a memoir, The Kabul Beauty School In her words Kabul people get close quickly, bound together by experience, fear and loneliness Time is compressed, relationships move fast, and the normal patterns of waiting before you talk i [...]

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4. One thing I liked about this novel an ordinary American woman who has extraordinary gumption wrote it The author s life as an American hairdresser was changed by 9 11 Deborah Rodriguez is an amazing person She finagled her way onto a medical mission to Afghanistan although she was a hairdresser and not a doctor Despite incredible risk to herself, she started the Kabul Beauty School for women Because of her life in Kabul and her marriage to a Muslim Afghan, she is able to expose, to some degree, [...]

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5. This book grabbed my interest when I read a review of it in my paperThey offer discounted prices on the book they review, I went the Kindle route instead and it was still cheaper.How can I give my review.IHmmI wanted to love this book but couldn t.It has an okay background but the characters seem a bit fluffy and they don t have much behind them though they pretend too If this was just a romantic romp then I could say Fine and be happy with the flat characters but in this book they screamed for [...]

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6. Ask yourself the following questions If you answer yes to a question, proceed to the next question If you answer no at any time, drop this book immediately and find a clerk to direct you to nonfiction or action adventure books.1 Do you need a book for your next business trip vacation weekend retreat 2 Do you prefer fiction over nonfiction 3 Do you like exotic locations for your stories 4 Do you now or have you ever in the past watched daytime soaps 5 Are you a woman Are you with me so far Okay, [...]

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7. Having read a number of fiction books about Afghanistan A Thousand Splendid Suns being my favourite I was keen to read this book following five women in Kabul However I came away disappointed and frustrated with the book and the author.The first mistake the author made was taking on the challenge of trying to write five believable, well rounded characters each with interesting and individual stories in a book of less than 400 pages The author has seriously over estimated their skills as a writer [...]

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8. This book didn t really work for me At first I was irritated by the let me work in lots of foreign words and explain these different cultural viewpoints to you tone Then I couldn t get into the characters, since they didn t seem to bond with each other, and then were shown working together as very close friends quite suddenly Actually, several plotlines seemed to drag on and then suddenly resolve themselves, often outside the story Issues with the young woman s sister, and adult son s internal d [...]

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9. This has been a wonderful read I found myself completey immersed in another world and felt as though I came to know the characters of this story intimately Sunny is an American from Missouri trying to make a new life in Afghanistan She s runs a coffee house that welcomes Afghans, Americans, UN workers, and employs a fascinating mixture of people She loves Afghanistan, but the rise in violence and possible re emergence of the Taliban is making the country unsafe for her and her coffee shop She is [...]

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10. Knowing how much I adored The Kite Runner my lovely husband chose The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul for me as a Christmas present as it is compared with Hosseini s masterpiece on the cover Unfortunately, he didn t realise that what the caption actually says is As if Maeve Binchy had written the Kite Runner So I approached this cautiously, it screams Chick Lit but it is set in contemporary Afghanistan Interesting mixture The central character of the novel is Sunny, a native of the American South wh [...]

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11. My thoughts The story is located in the heart of Kabul, during war time and narrates the story of five different women They have almost nothing in common, nothing but the fact that they all hang out at the same coffee shop in Kabul Some of the events that take place during the novel will bring them all together and as the story unfolds we witness secrets being revealed, fear and anger take over, issues of heart being solved or not, all in the heart of war What I enjoyed the most about this book [...]

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12. This is a warm romantic novel set in a harsh county Like the main character, the author had a successful enterprise in Kabul and knew what a job it was to get a generator and keep it running.The main character s name is Sunny and despite the recurring and wide spread abuse of women depicted in many parts of this novel, it has a sunny feel It not a page turner, but it is a fast read The content makes it something like chick lit with in exotic locale The story is simple, and sweet By the middle, y [...]

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13. I gave this book two stars rather than one because I did at least finish it On the cover it is described as Maeve Binchy meets the Kite Runner I do not think this is a compliment The story itself is lightweight romantic fiction with happy endings for most of the main characters and one death as an acknowledgement of the setting which is war torn Afghanistan The author has lived there herself and her poliitical views are voiced through some of the characters in a very unrealistic way Overall I di [...]

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14. You will find that thing that makes you unafraid to die That important thing that makes your life of value Damn, it feels really good to finish a book blame uni Do you ever read a book and feel neutral about it even though you really enjoyed it For starter, it was nice to read about something different for change different traditions, country, etc, but i think my lack of knowledge about Afghanistan prevented me from enjoying the book than i did There are things, though, that i loved about this [...]

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15. Even though it was set in the middle east and tried to incorporate the very real dangers women and men face the book felt like a soap opera to me The dialogue was outright corny at times and it did feel very westernised and watered down so as not to be too graphic or controversial.My favourite character was probably Halajan, although I did also like Yasmina But I really didn t believe the metamorphosis of some of the characters, particalarly one who had been set in the traditional ways for so lo [...]

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16. People, even those closest to you, are surprisingNobody is everything they seem The tale of five awesome women who go out and kick life right in the ass, The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul was everything I had hoped it would be and Heartbreaking, beautiful, challenging and inspiring, this story questions good and bad, tradition and progress, right and wrong.Whimsical and energetic, this book practically pulses with a rich and vibrant life, and draws you into the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan The w [...]

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17. I will confess that this surprised me a bit Based on the blurb, I thought I would be reading a rather cheery bookuntil I read the opening scene, which begins with a young Afghani girl being torn from her family as a human payment for a debt to a drug lord As Yazmina shivered in the back of the black Land Rover, facing her hideous destiny as prostitute unless she dies the minute they find out that she is pregnant , I seriously considered dumping the book I really can t deal with sexual abuse of c [...]

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18. Chick lit meets the Taliban in The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul also published under the title A Cup of Friendship.This unlikely pairing creates a warm hearted read with a serious message about the treatment of women in modern day Afghanistan.It tells the story of five women two Americans, one British and two Afghans and the friendship they forge in a little coffee shop in the centre of Kabul.It s evident that American author Deborah Rodriguez loves Kabul, the city she called home for five years [...]

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19. I probably wouldn t have bought this myself as the cover has chick lit written all over it, but I was given the book as a present and I love reading about Afghanistan so I thought I d give it a try I must admit that at first the writing style grated on me almost enough to call it quits at a couple of stages but I persevered and I m really glad I did Although the story may be a little idealistic and facile at times, there is a sincere undercurrent of friendship, love and overcoming adversity thro [...]

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20. This book turned out to be a much lighter affair than I was expecting It is like a romantic chick lit story albeit set in the troubled city of Kabul Sunny, a heartbroken American, runs the eponymous coffee shop which is visited by a range of characters from an American consultant, British journalist etc There are Afghan characters like Halajan who helps to run the cafe and a pregnant Yazmina, who makes the cafe her home.The most interesting characters are the Afghans but their character develop [...]

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21. Just didn t like it Probably expected too much Khaled hosseini set the benchmark and this comes nowhere near.

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22. This is the first review that I ve written on here Having just read The Kite Runner , I was eager to learn about the gorgeous culture that I d had a glimpse of in Khaled Hosseini s beautiful novel I am a sucker for a bit of chick lit as I find it so easy to read and escape to I just didn t get this book and what it was trying to do Its message seemed to be one of importance but the bias was too much for me, it didn t feel authentic, not to mention I found the characters thoroughly hard to belie [...]

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23. I am currently reading The little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriquez and thoroughly enjoying it The author has managed to take one of the most dangerous places on the planet Afghanistan and present it in a positive light despite the horrors regularly unfolding.What I like about this book so far is its unequivocal and honest spotlight onto the issues of women s rights, but in such a down to earth manner that all she does is tell the facts, portray it as it is I haven t read far into it yet [...]

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24. This was lent to me by HRH Princess Chloemuffin s mum, Jane Jane loved it, but from the start I found it meh 5 women meet and become friends in a coffee shop in Kabul 5 disparate women, 5 disparate lives Did I say Meh I wanted to like this, but, although I finished it, I was very ho hum about the whole thing It was too pat, too cliched, too cosy Too glossed over Not every book about Afghanistan has to be full of angst and drama like A Thousand Splendid Suns , but this was the other extreme for m [...]

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25. I m only writing this review to clear one thing up, though there are so many stereotypical inaccuracies in this book its ridiculous Muhammad upon him be peace is not to Islam or Muslims what Jesus upon him be peace is to Christianity or Christians Muhammad upon him be peace is not a deity nor is he treated as such by Muslims He is the last and final messenger of God Just as Islam treats Jesus as a prophet and Abraham and Noah and Adam.Going back to the book itself, it had good intentions but the [...]

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26. This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, and I m glad I ve finally read it.The story is set in Kabul and revolves around a coffee shop run by Sunny, an American, and centres on the lives of five women and the men in their lives.It was fascinating looking at their relationships against the backdrop of Kabul shortly after 911, and the differences between cultures.I would have liked to know a bit about a couple of the women, especially Candace and Isabel, but that didn t stop me [...]

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27. There were some interesting and deep concepts in this book treatment of women in Afghanistan, terrorism, the tension between old faith and modern times, to name a few , but it isn t written in a way that is deep and profound The overall tone of the book is light and it feels like there is no earth shattering events happening although there is, at times literally earth shattering It was a pleasant read, although I m not sure whether I d continue on with the sequel.

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28. Before I read this, I checked some readers reviews I can say that majority of them weren t happy with it, but here I am giving it a 4 stars The story was about 5 different women and their own personal struggle Sunny, the one who owns the coffeehouse, Yazmina, an unfortunate young woman who served as a payment for her uncle s debts, I think she represent some Afghan woman who were not privileged to for somethings because they are still trap in their old tradition everything about her moved me Isa [...]

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29. wasn t expecting much after reading the reviews for this book I am pretty clueless when it comes to Afghan culture so couldn t really say how true to life it is, although some of the narrative did come across as patronising However the stories regarding developing your identity and forming friendships were nice and relevant in all contexts.

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30. This novel tells the story of several different people who are linked through an American woman s coffee shop in Kabul Sunny, the owner of the coffee shop, has traveled to Kabul with her boyfriend, trying to escape from Nowheresville, Arkansas straight from the book There is Halajan, the owner of the building, a modernist Afghan woman and her traditional son, Ahmet There is Yazmina, the young and pregnant widow taken from her home and rescued by Sunny Isabel and Candace, also Westerners, are Sun [...]

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