Author: Deborah Rodriguez
Title: Return To The Little Coffee Shop Of Kabul
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Fiction, Modern And Contemporary Fiction,
Synopsis: Sunny, Former proprietor of the little coffee shop and new owner of the screaming peacock vineyard can she handle the challenges of life on her own?
Yasmina,
The Young mother who runs the cafe, until a terrifying event strikes
at the heart of her family and business...
Layla
And Kat, Afghan teenagers in america, Struggling to make sense of
their place in the world...
Zara,
About to be forced into marriage which will have devastating
consequences...
These
women are about to learn what halajan,
Yazmina's
Rebellious mother-in-law, has known all along: When the world as you
know it disappears, you find a new way to live.
Reuniting
us with the much-loved cast of the international bestseller. the
little coffee shop of kabul. Deborah Rodriguez tells an
inspiring story of women's strength and courage in changing the
world.
Prologue: "Are you blind, you stupid girl? Do you want to get me killed?" The boy picked his bike out of the gutter and shook his small fist at her, but she just kept running. Her sneakers grew heavy with the mud underfoot and she struggled to keep her pace as she hurried through the narrow streets of the city. Around her, everything seemed to be moving in slow motion - the men pushing their carts piled high with pomegranates and cantaloupes, the covered women walking in pairs, leading their children by the hand, the mass of the fat - tailed sheep being urged along with a sharp stick - but inside, her heart was racing so fast she thought it might burst.She flew around a corner and elbowed her way though the crowds of people gathered near the outdoor food stalls, the smell of garbage and kebobs hitting her like an avalanche. All of her senses seemed to be turned up high - car horns blared, bicycle bells clanged, vendors shouted out their prices, generators whirred. How lucky she was that nobody seemed to bother with her, a frantic girl rushing though the streets with her hands covering her ears. But of course they would not. No man would dare to put a hand on her in public, and the women would all be too wary to get involved.Yet she continued to jerk her head around like a frighted bird, her eyes on the lookout for anyone who might be following. Past the shops with their sagging awnings and crumbling facades she fled, weaving in and out of the traffic that was becoming heavier the closer she got to the business center, where the glass and steel kam air building rose up from the sidewalk like a giant faceless robot. She grasped at the head scarf slipping back on her silky hair, and nearly tripped over a burqa'd beggar sitting in the middle of qala-e-musa road, a baby resting on rags at her side, the only visible part of her body the one bare hand reaching out to the passing cars. But the girl had to keep going, had to move faster. As she approached shaheed square she quickened her pace, leaping over the potholes that made the roads nearly impassible. Suddenly she felt her left foot slide out from under her and heard a cry as her hip hit the ground. She sat stunned for a moment, the mud oozing through her fingers and soaking her long blouse and jeans straight through to her skin. Two men walked their bikes in a wide circle around her, and straight ahead she could see another man in a white cap getting a shave on the street corner. Neither he nor the street barber holding a straight razor in one hand, keeping the man's face steady with the other, even blinked. It was as if she were invisible. She stood and, without bothering to wipe away the filth that covered half her body, continued to run. Now the streets had become a little wider, the traffic lighter, the high walls lining the roads making her picture herself as a rat in a giant maze. She moved as quickly as her feet would take her. She was almost there. But as she approached the guardhouse, her chest heaving with exhaustion, a small movement across the street attracted her eye. Through the window of a white Toyota,
she
saw a man pulling something black over his head. The chokidor must
have noticed as well, for all at once the air was filled with
activity. A car door slammed, the guard yelled and toward his gun,
and the girl slipped through the gate and dashed toward the
coffeehouse door.
Book Dedication: John Asahara, a wonderful man full of wisdom, love, and kindness. You are an inspiration to many.
Quote: where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure - Rumi
This book l got for free as part of a goodreads giveaway and first read l never won anything before but l want to say thank you to goodreads for having a great site and l want to say thank you to the person who hosted the giveaway and picking me as a winner.
Review: This book was really easy to get in to l was hooked on this book after reading the first few pages it was hard to put down once l started reading it. l was sad to read that jack passed away and sunny is carrying around his ashes not knowing what to do do with them. l got an arc of this book l want to read more from Deborah Rodriguez. highly recommend this book to anyone this book is awesome and a great storyline. l would tell people you should step outside your comfort zone with books because it is good to add more authors and genres to your reading portfolio even if you do not read books like this. l was sad to read that the coffeehouse was attacked by a gunman who shot some of the people that was there and Zara was injured. Yazmina went to the hospital with her. l hope she survives. some other people was injured as well. Zara's sister's headmaster wanted to marry Zara and he would do anything to make it happen but Zara loves Omar. The headmaster threatened to hurt her, her family and friends and Omar. The headmaster took Zara's phone so he could find out who had Zara's heart because he would love a younger wife. Zara wanted to carry on with school and university and marry Omar. l was glad to read that Yazmina's husband, daughter and mother in law was safe. l was sad to read that yazmina was nearly hit in the stomach glad the bullet missed because she is heavily pregnant with her second child. l wonder if she has another daughter or a son. l can not put in to words how great this book really is l would tell people to read this book for themselves to know how great this story really is. l was sad to read that Zara died from her injuries even after her death the headmaster who threatened her, her family and friends and Omar still followed her. he was seen at Zara's grave. Zara did not want to live because of him wanting to marry her. Yazmina was visiting Zara at the hospital but yazmina's husband told her he did not want her visiting Zara again because she could be in danger still and he thought she should be resting because she is pregnant and she should stay home being a mother and wife and cleaning up the coffeehouse after the shooting l feel sorry for Zara's family and friends because they still could be in danger. this book has 309 pages and 39 chapters in it. this book is full of surprises. Zara was not really dead Zara and her family had gone in to hiding to get away from faheem Zara's sister's headmaster. l was sad to read that Omar was killed by Faheem's men and poor Zara was heartbroken by Omar's death but she was back with her family. l was happy to read that yazmina and ahmet's second daughter arrived safe but ahmet was sad that the baby was another girl . l liked reading that yazmina feed the baby chewed up dates and then the baby's hair was shaved off and the family would weigh the baby's hair and give the weight of the hair to the poor which l think is nice of the family. l was sad to read that kat's mother died at the hand's of her father. it was funny what they did to rick but he should not have tried to rip sunny off by saying he owned half of the vineyard. l really loved this book l can not get enough of reading it l would happily read this book again and again. it was nice to read that ahmet made a promise to both his daughters and he said to sunny over skype have you seen my beautiful daughter auntie sunny and auntie Layla. Kat thought the baby girl is beautiful too l want to read more of this storyline and people and l love reading about wine making and grape picking. l hope Kat gets justice for her mother. l wish the coffeehouse was still open and l hope Faheem is put in jail for ordering the shootout and Omar's death. l hope Zara comes to terms with Omar's death and finds somebody who loves her and she gets married and has babies and she is safe from faheem hope her family and friends are safe too. l can not wait to see if sunny chooses to stay on the island or goes home. the vineyard is great l love that jack had a cat and dog that are now sunny's l hope sunny picks somewhere beautiful to put jack's ashes and l hope sunny founds somebody else to be happy with now jack has sadly passed away. Joe and sky sound like really nice guys . l was happy to read that the coffeehouse is going to be a safehouse for girls and women like Zara. l wish l could rate this book more than five stars. it was nice to read that sunny was helping with funds for the safehouse aka the coffeehouse girls and women safe with their children. l was happy to read that Kat was helping with the safehouse and that sunny was staying on the island to make jack's dreams come true even though he was not around to see it.
Star Rating: Five out of Five stars
About the author: Deborah Rodriguez is the author of the international bestseller the little coffeehouse of kabul. She also written two memoirs: the beauty school, about her life in Afghanistan, and the house on carnaval street on her experiences following her return to america. She spent five years teaching and later directing the kabul beauty school, the first modern beauty academy and training salon in Afghanistan, Deborah also owned the oasis salon and the cabul coffeehouse, and is founder of the non-profit organization oasis rescue, which aims to teach economically disadvantaged women, and women in post-conflict and disaster-stricken areas, the art of hairdressing she currently lives in Mazatlan, mexico, where she owns the tippy toes salon and spa.
