Wednesday 5th November, 2014 - The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez, chosen by Ani

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez

• Setting: Kabul, Afghanistan
• Tale about the friendship between 5 women 
• Light and easy to read
• Not quite believable but a good way to introduce readers to Afghanistan
• Copy of book has recipes and author interview at the end

Links:

Deborah Rodriguez - Official website

Interview with Deborah Rodriguez - Youtube

Afghanistan Hidden Treasures

Buddhas of Bamiyan (Wiki link)

What we Discussed:

• The author, her life in Kabul, her writing, how the book was received.

• The Kabul Beauty School, the author's first book - (some of us have read and enjoyed it, some preferred it to this book).

• We listened to an author interview.

• The characters - their stories did not seem plausible but we did enjoy them.  Everything seemed to end too perfectly.  This suited some of us, others wanted more.

• There were a lot of themes that were introduced but not completely resolved. In a way, this served to introduce the reader to Afghanistan and perhaps encourage those who would not have read about it to have a little glimpse into the country, as such.

• Other books set in Afghanistan were mentioned: The Kite Runner by Khaled Husseini (we have read this as a group a few years ago), A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini (some have already read this), And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Husseini, The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad (Ca would like to pursue this), Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (highly recommended by those who have read it), The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri Murari (recommended), A Thousand Rooms of Dreams and Fear by Atiq Rahimi (one has read this), Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberta Gately (The biography of a nurse who volunteered to go to Afghanistan)   Some of us brought copies of these books to share - The different writing styles were noted.

• Women and clothing:  We looked at pictures of Afghanistan clothing in both men and women and also talked about how dressing has changed over the years.

• The different governments of Afghanistan over the years and how this has affected the people and their lives. General attitude towards women also discussed.

• Afghanistan:Hidden treasures   (The exhibition currently in our city and some of us have been - An interesting exhibition of amazing treasures giving an insight into lives from the past).

• Also recommended was the inspiring journey of Dr Munjed Al Muderis who has written his biography called Walking Free.