Teaser Tuesday - A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez

First there was Kabul Beauty School, Deborah Rodriguez's factual account of moving from the U.S. to Kabul, Afghanistan as an almost middle-aged woman looking for a new life challenge and work other than that of mother to grown sons. In the U.S. Rodriguez was a beauty salon owner and operator. Once in Kabul she was drawn into the plight of Afghan women--their struggles to support their families and enjoy some independence from husbands, fathers and brothers. She also saw that Afghan women loved and enjoyed being beautiful even though their famous beauty must be hidden behind the veil in public. Through trial and error--and sometimes plain bravado--she was able to establish the Kabul Beauty School where women could train to be beauticians and offer the Afghan style of beauty treatments as well as learning to be good business women. Now in A Cup of Friendship, Rodriguez turns to fiction with a twist. Still in Kabul, but now it's a coffee shop.

Teaser Tuesday is described by its host Miz B over at Should Be Reading as a "weekly bookish meme" open to any reader who wants to play along. If, like me, you're always curious about what people are reading or on the lookout for the next great read, then this may by your meme. To play, just click on Miz B's link above for the simple rules.



A Cup of Friendship, a Novel
by Deborah Rodriguez

"Yazmina began to sob--for the baby that was doomed before it was born, and for Halajan and how, as independent as she was, she could not move mountains, after all. . .With sadness and optimism she wept for all the daughters of Afghanistan." p. 140

Book Description: Sunny, a 38 year old American who's made her share of bad choices and mistakes, has finally found her niche operating a very popular coffee shop for the wide variety of expatriate civilians and military, as well as local Afghans, who live and work in Kabul and surroundings after the war. Sunny operates the shop with the help of several Afghans including her landlady Halajan, a daringly independent woman, and her son Ahmet who is locked in the traditional Muslim male head of the family role. And then a beautiful young , pregnant widow Yazmina ends up on their doorstep after escaping a couple of war lords to whom she was sold by her uncle for his drug debts. Her plight and the efforts of the coffee shop patrons to help her challenges the established beliefs of everyone involved. Will the bonds of friendship be stronger than a culture that accepts violence and subjugation of its women as the norm?

If, like me, you are fascinated by the Middle East and all its contrasts, Kabul Beauty School and A Cup of Friendship will give you a revealing look behind the scenes at the culture and day to day life of Afghanistan. In particular, you will learn to appreciate the daily struggles of Afghan women and their determination to survive in a sometimes unspeakably violent culture.