The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul: The heart-warming and uplifting international bestseller

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The ending of Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul feels fitting. Pushing the idea of finding a home, connecting to your roots and making yourself whole. There is so much strength in this book. Even Zara who goes through a lot, suffers, blames herself for so much pain and suffering is strong. The whole thing ends on a tone of optimism as is only right. All that said I did have a little lingering disappointment over the ending, but I'm unsure why. "Life it goes on." [...] "You find new things to keep you busy, new friends to help you pass the time, new ways to make yourself feel happy. And when life gives you lemons, you make wine." — Joe It is not necessary to have read the previous book, as there is enough character description and history mentioned within the narrative for new readers to be able to follow along. It is also suitable for book groups as it contains a series of reading group questions at the end of the novel. All in all an enjoyable book which has enhanced my enjoyment of the previous books written by this author

Really enjoyed this book that is a reminder of life in Kabul for Sunny. The whole host of characters were reintroduced- without too much of a recap but enough to refresh memories after a while. Interesting stories about love and loss are intertwined and there are new, fresh characters to meet and enjoy. The characters are brought to life and the episodes were vivid and contributed to the storyline. Deborah Rodriguez is a hairdresser, a motivational speaker, and the author of the bestselling memoir Kabul Beauty School. Some of the favourite characters from the first book return in this and it is fascinating to see how events have changed their attitudes and outlooks and even though a lot of the book isn't set in Kabul anymore, there is still plenty of visits there to see how life has changed, if at all, for those trying to get on with normal lives and we see different aspects of the culture explored in a striking way. I loved this book. I really did. I loved the characters, the storytelling, the settings, the themes the book explores, everything. I loved it all. Rodriguez's strength as a writer is her ability to conjure up vivid, endearing-but-flawed characters, whose lives are not without their upsets and challenges. She avoids being too saccharine and predictable, and drops several heartbreaking twists along the way.MY COMMENTS: I struggled somewhat with The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul when I read it some months ago. My review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... but I had hoped for the answers to some of my questions in the follow up book. Sadly, it was not to be. The author tends to gloss over things, important things, like Layla's abduction. I was really keen to read this book having read the prequel "The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul" twice and having loved it both times. If I had one criticism it would be that there wasn't enough about Kabul. Although the little coffeehouse did play a part, it was no longer the cornerstone of the plot. However it was good to understand how everyone's lives had progressed. I really enjoyed it. I have never read a book about Kabul and having so many different types of people all in one book was very universal, inclusive and felt real to today. The insight into life in Kabul at that time, particularly for women is insightful. The snippets of historical and political facts interesting and eye opening.

The story of the hero lion was one of Najama's and Halajan's favourites. Of course, she had not shared all the details with her granddaughter. Like how, after the mujahideen had driven the country into violence and chaos, there was no one left to feed the animals in the zoo, and many of them died of hunger. Following the lives of people within America adjusting to not being in Kabul anymore was not as interesting as I thought it would be. Ach, who would want more than one?" [...] "But it is also true," [...] "that without us, these men who are so valuable would have no sons. Heaven is under the Mother's feet, so treat her kindly. Have you not heard that said? Our tradition tells us that women should be given kindness, love, and respect if a man truly wants to be righteous."

There are so many people like Kat and others like Layla, different flowers that bloomed from the same soil. First of all, I honestly can't believe that people like Faheem exist, he has a very disgusting personality and people like him just waste oxygen. Fabulous sequel to Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. So rich in narrative that I felt like I was part of the scenery. The author is so descriptive that you feel you know all the characters personally. The correct response to this (which was noticeably absent in the novel) is THERE IS NEVER A REASON TO TREAT A WOMAN LIKE THAT. There is NEVER a time to treat women as lesser, as something that needs to be kept in line, diminished, abused or hidden away. I loved the change in Ahmet's personality and how he became somehow open minded, and that speech he said when he held his daughter was so touching:").

Sequel to the Kabul Coffee Shop series, Return to the Little Coffee Shop Of Kabul by Deborah Rodriguez gives you glimpse into the life of Sunny, Halajan, and the new generation. A generation living away from Kabul, trying to adjust on the another side of the world, a world without bullets and bloodshed. And not just the young ones, the grown ups now need to find a new path towards their life as well. And then there is Zara, who is about to be forced into a marriage with devastating consequences, even for Halajan's family. In their respective lives, these women will learn a valuable lesson from Halajan; I was utterly captivated by The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, so was extremely delighted to find out that there was a follow up and it hasn't disappointed as I've been captivated again by the characters and storyline. Yes, and what about a woman whose husband has four wives? He is allowed four, and she is allowed just one husband? In that marriage, is she worth just one quarter of a man?"Ahmet: Didn't believe his sudden transformation. Came out of nowhere and didn't ring true. Played to the reader, not to the character.

Book Two was a mistake that would never have been read by me were it not for the curiosity about the series. It takes the same set of characters as in the first book, but when you begin, you realise that even before the very first chapter, one of the best characters from Book One has been killed off. The story then goes downhill into melodrama. I abandoned this book after a few chapters, I just couldn't take the repetitive whining. Skip this without any regret.While you will be eager to know what will happen next, thanks to Zara who maintains this feeling throughout the book, the previous characters of Sunny and Yazmina won't appeal to you that much. Even Halajan, who was like a neighborhood badass, is a notch down in the story. Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul could have definitely used some more twists and turns, but what I read was not that half bad. Also, if you think that reading the first book is important to understand the story, do not worry. Rodriguez has made sure to cover important areas and has not left the reader in the dark.