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A review by _dosia_
The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book was...OK.
Deborah has spent lots of time in Afghanistan and it shows as her settings feel very vivid and realistic, so I do appreciate that (though some of her Afghani characters leave much to be desired). The idea of a group of women banding together under a violently mysoginistic and oppressive government was a really sweet one, and I enjoyed parts of the domesticity in the narrative, and its overall political point of female rebellion. She has an easy to read style of writing and I remember really enjoying her autobiographical novel 'Kabul Beauty School' when I was younger, but this was quite a let down.
That being said, the female friendships at the core of this story felt so forced and vapid. The American women were fairly obnoxious, white-saviory and unlikeable and their love-stories became the central focus of the book, which I loathed. In contrast, the narratives of the two Afghan women - Yazmina and Halajan - were beautifully complex and I wish the focus was more on them, especially Halajan's love story. Yazmina's love interest can go straight in the trash.
I guess I just expected more. I see what it was trying to do but its themes didn't reach their potential and the plot felt quite flat and rushed.
Deborah has spent lots of time in Afghanistan and it shows as her settings feel very vivid and realistic, so I do appreciate that (though some of her Afghani characters leave much to be desired). The idea of a group of women banding together under a violently mysoginistic and oppressive government was a really sweet one, and I enjoyed parts of the domesticity in the narrative, and its overall political point of female rebellion. She has an easy to read style of writing and I remember really enjoying her autobiographical novel 'Kabul Beauty School' when I was younger, but this was quite a let down.
That being said, the female friendships at the core of this story felt so forced and vapid. The American women were fairly obnoxious, white-saviory and unlikeable and their love-stories became the central focus of the book, which I loathed. In contrast, the narratives of the two Afghan women - Yazmina and Halajan - were beautifully complex and I wish the focus was more on them, especially Halajan's love story. Yazmina's love interest can go straight in the trash.
I guess I just expected more. I see what it was trying to do but its themes didn't reach their potential and the plot felt quite flat and rushed.