Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil | 
 enlarge | Authors: Deborah Rodriguez, Kristin Ohlson
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  98 reviews
Sales Rank: 7524
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0812976738
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.4869709581090511
EAN: 9780812976731
ASIN: 0812976738
Publication Date: December 18, 2007
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Product Description
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid to this war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–as doctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea was born.
With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the Kabul Beauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning but sometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers, overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challenges of a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her students to become their families’ breadwinners by learning the fundamentals of coloring techniques, haircutting, and makeup.
Yet within the small haven of the beauty school, the line between teacher and student quickly blurred as these vibrant women shared with Rodriguez their stories and their hearts: the newlywed who faked her virginity on her wedding night, the twelve-year-old bride sold into marriage to pay her family’s debts, the Taliban member’s wife who pursued her training despite her husband’s constant beatings. Through these and other stories, Rodriguez found the strength to leave her own unhealthy marriage and allow herself to love again, Afghan style.
With warmth and humor, Rodriguez details the lushness of a seemingly desolate region and reveals the magnificence behind the burqa. Kabul Beauty School is a remarkable tale of an extraordinary community of women who come together and learn the arts of perms, friendship, and freedom.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 93 more reviews...
 Informative and inspiring. August 28, 2008
I enjoyed this book very much. It gave a look into the lives of Afghan women trying to make a positive step in their lives, sometimes when their husbands couldn't provide. They took it upon them selves to take a step toward financial independance for themselves and their families.
What was a bit contradictory, perhaps, was how Debbie Rodriguez mentions a few times that the Afghan people were the warmest and most endearing people, however, it seems like most of her students and women there in general were being beaten by their husbands. It seemed every time she brought it up, somebody was getting beaten. So what's the deal?? Are the people only nice to women outside their families, or did she miss something in her writing to differenciate the two.
 my view of a good book August 23, 2008
Well I really enjoyed this book. The author writes in a way that makes it seem she is talking directly to the reader. She gives many situations that are sad, funny and difficult. She points out how ahrd it is for Afgan women, and all the "rules" they must follow(this is upsetting for us westerners) but also enlightens us about what other women have to endure. Her funny incidents are really light and show a comradary with women as women. All in All I found this a very enjoyable ready and I learned a lot and this is a women who at least tried to do some "good" for women under the worst situations.
Kabul August 19, 2008
FASCINATING INSIDE PICTURE OF EVERYDAY LIFE IN A PLACE THAT IS AN ENIGMA TO MOST AMERICANS. VERY ENTERTAINING BESIDES.
Decent story but consider buying used or getting from library August 10, 2008
This was a decent book, despite uninspiring prose. The author/protagonist does a good job taking us to the far away land of Afghanistan and relaying the plight of many Afghani women. She's inspiring as she throws herself into helping distressed people around the world; however, I was disappointed that I couldn't like the author/protagonist. By the end of the book, I found it troubling that she could travel thousands of miles to live and help others, while neglecting her own children. This dichotomy was all I could think of towards the end of the book and after finishing. Recognizing "no one's perfect," I think she could have been more likeable and the book more satisfying if she would have addressed this dichotomy.
Serious subject, light writing. July 28, 2008
Kabul Beauty School is an amazing memoir by a divorced American hairdresser. Debbie Rodriguez travels to Afghanistan and opens a cosmetology school so that women there can learn a marketable skill and make some money of their own. She then alternates her time between Afghanistan and her home back in the United States (though one does wonder about the fate of her two children in the middle of all this), eventually marrying an Afghan man. (Who later, as it turns out, already HAS a wife. Eeesh.). This book provides a riveting look at the lives of women in modern-day Afghanistan. To boot, Rodriguez has an irreverent personality and a wicked sense of humor. The book moves along very quickly, and I enjoyed reading it. Even though much of the text describes the terrible repression/abuse of Afghan women, it is written with a light touch.
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