I read book after book about Afghanistan - (Pg 64)

The Kabul Beauty School is a biography by Deborah Rodriguez. Once again, as in her work of fiction, the storytelling is fantastic and the characters are truly beautiful.

If you are able to overlook some of the odd decisions made by Rodriguez, such as her numerous marriages and leaving her young children behind in America, this is a pretty amazing adventure.

After reading this I did do a little more research about Rodriguez and there is quite a bit of speculation as to whether the events and her involvement in the beauty school are as in depth as she presents them.

There is also much controversy about the stories that she retells. Even though she changed names, apparently the women who revealed their stories to Rodriguez are afraid of being found out and of the repercussions. Of course there is no way to tell what is the truth in this situation.

Putting all that aside, read this book, it's another real eye opener into that part of the world.

280 Days Remaining, 20 Books to go

Australian Press Release
RAWA - International
SAWA - Australia

He wanted to be sure every word could be read - (Pg 36)

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez was, quite simply, a wonderful story.

Rodriguez is an amazing storyteller. With very few words she is able to paint a vivid picture of the people of Kabul, their surroundings, the time of year, everything.

This story is filled with fantastic and inspirational characters. It is a rather large cast, however I always knew who was who, never got lost and was genuinely interested in every single one of them.

It paints a very real picture of women in Afghanistan, and at the same time I think it spares the reader of the worst atrocities. Most of the women's stories are not told as they happen, but in past tense, which somehow makes it easier to take as you know that the women somehow survived.

This story gave me a strong desire to learn more about the situation in Afghanistan and to try and help in any way that I possibly can. See below for some links if you too are interested in helping out or learning more.

 280 Days Remaining, 21 Books to go

Australian Press Release
RAWA - International
SAWA - Australia