Meet the characters from Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul

A tale of life, death and marriage, set in one of the most dangerous places on earth. That was The Little Coffee Shop in Kabul, the international bestseller about five extraordinary women – two Afghan and three American – who meet in a tiny café in faraway Kabul.

Its author, Deborah Rodriguez, a Michigan hairdresser, restless and looking to be useful, arrived in Afghanistan in 2002 after the fall of the Taliban: ‘When we arrived in the country it was worse than I could have imagined,’ she says. ‘Everything seemed broken – buildings, roads, homes, families and individuals.’

Rodriguez spent five years establishing Kabul’s first modern beauty academy and training salon – and opening her own coffee shop. Eventually forced to leave Afghanistan after threats made against her, she says she learned a lot from Afghan women. ‘These women are so strong yet their lives are so hard. I learned that it is not about what you have or how much you have that makes you happy. It’s about family and friends. I learned to take time for family. I learned to smile during hard times.’

Now, in the much-anticipated sequel, Return to the Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, readers are reunited with many of the compelling characters from the original. Here’s a sneak preview of the wonderful characters in the sequel – six women on opposite sides of the earth yet forever joined by a little café in Kabul:

Sunny
The café’s former proprietor and the new owner of the Screaming Peacock Vineyard in the Pacific Northwest. But can she handle the challenges of life on her own?

Yazmina
The young mother who now runs the café, until a terrifying event strikes at the heart of her family, and business…

Layla and Kat
Two Afghan teenagers in America, both at war with the cultures that shaped them.

Zara
Ayoung woman about to be forced into a marriage with a man she despises, with devastating consequences for all.

These five women are about to learn what Halajan, Yazmina's rebellious mother-in-law, has known all along: that when the world as you know it disappears, you find a new way to survive.

Praise for Rodriguez:

‘A craftsman and a storyteller, Rodriguez captures place and people wholeheartedly, unveiling the faces of Afghanistan's women through a wealth of memorable characters who light up the page.’
– Publishers Weekly

‘[A] rollicking story... transcends the feel-good genre largely because of the author's superior storytelling gifts and wicked sense of humor.’
– The New York Times