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:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 2245
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 88 more reviews...
 Gross exeggaration of facts July 25, 2008
[...]
Facts aside, the book is an interesting read and I believe does paint a semi-accurate picture of the life in Afghanistan. However, the writing style is sub-par and the story jumps around from past to present so much, that it's hard to tell what already happened and what's going on right now.
As for the facts, a 2007 New York Times articles exposed just how over exaggerated the story really is. Ms. Rodriguez was not the founder of the Kabul Beauty School - the beauty school was already established, the building built and donations received before Rodriguez even came into the picture. Ms. Rodriguez described with much drama being held at gun point and being told that the Women's Ministry is taking over the school. In reality, others involved with the school stated that Ms. Rodriguez moved the school to her own private residence to make profit. As long as the school was at the Ministry, it was non-profit.
One of the women, Roshanna, figures promptly in the book. When questioned as to her existence, Rodriguez said that she fabricated many of the details of Roshanna's story. The reality is that Rodriguez profited from her experience through the book and movie deal, and then left this women to fend for themselves. She placed them in danger by telling their stories, and then left Afghanistan for good. As one article states, the beauty school is currently closed and Ms. Rodriguez has no plans of returning there.
 Audio unabridged 8 Cds. Brilliant listen July 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A look at the lives of women in Afghanistan through the eyes of a beauty school (mainly hairdressing and some beauty salon treatments).
Deborah Rodriguez first went as a volunteer with a small non-profit organization and she realized the huge demands for a Western hairdressers in that country . So she gave up her time to train Afghan women to get a career and able to support themselves and their families.
Afghanistan women were not treated as equal to the men and their opportunities were limited. The students own stories all so different and interesting. Deborah Rodriguez involved herself to try to help or fix extremely difficult problems these women were experiencing. She really pushed the boundaries.
Narrator in Audio is brilliant. Highly recommend this on audio.
Worth Reading July 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
For all of the critics who are complaining that this book is just some book written by some dumb American bla bla bla...Well, to me, as an American, I liked the fact that it was written and filtered by her point of view. Additionally, she didn't try to hide the fact that she was coming into this situation from a very different culture; she admitted her cultural differences and wore them on her sleeve. If she would have refused to do this her book would have been phony. Perhaps some of you pseudo-liberals would have preferred her to pretend like she was some super culturally sensitive American (which is what you would have done, right) that was cool with how they treat women (rape, arranged marriages, sexual harassment, etc.) After all, we have to be culturally sensitive. No, that's not the way it works. I am a true liberal and it ticks me off when "liberals" don't allow for the criticism of other cultures when it involves HUMAN RIGHTS. Yes, lot's of the things she said were tough to hear, but for all of you complaining that she was not 'sensitive enough to the culture' I personally think that is B.S. Why don't you try to live in Kabul for one month. I challenge you. You probably wouldn't make it as you are used to all of the rights (especially you women) we take for granted here in America.
Yes... and ultimately No June 28, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I started reading this book, I was surprised to learn that the author is from my hometown in Michigan (I moved cross-country two decades ago, but still visit once a year). So, from the get-go I was extra curious about Debbie's story. At first glance, I thought the book was fascinating, and I admired the author's tenacity and heart. I didn't mind her writing style (I thought that was part of the charm), and I gave her ditzy personality a lot of latitude because I figured, at the end of the day, her efforts were having a positive impact. Naively, I assumed that Debbie had the Kabul women's best interests at heart... even though she chose to reveal "secrets" and privileged information about her beauty school students and peers. But, post-book, as I've learned more about the story (with a good bit of googling), my curiosity and fascination with the book has been replaced by sadness and disappointment. A recent (June 2008) article in the Chicago Tribune tells how the story has unfolded, or unraveled, since the book's been published... and it ain't pretty. Since she's a hometown girl, I still want to believe that Debbie's intentions have always been above board... but, either way, it's had a devastating impact on the women left behind in Kabul. Debbie's gotten some degree of glory, but her Kabul "sisters" are paying the price, and having to do it all by themselves. Very, very sad.
Our World is Complicated June 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Just finished reading this with my book club. Creating a beauty school in Kabul is so uniquely feminine in a male dominated environment. It's like listening to men in the barbershop, lots of lies and exaggerations but women in beauty shops talk not of the conquests (sports or the bedroom) but of pain and paybacks (to men and other women). Read it with "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (horribly lovely). One gets a flavor of life in Afghanistan relative to the shoeleather scaring of the recent invasions (Russian, USA, Taliban,etc.). The women in both books are incredibly strong (suns behind the wall). I am not sure if it is tradition that makes them such equisite problem-solvers or men and their notions of their 'role'. Ms. Rodriquez' experiences are appealing as she presents the lives of the more 'priviledged' women of Kabul and their challenges. If she were an Afghani woman, I fear she would not have been alive to write this "People Magazine" chronicle of the women's lives through this American Lens. However, much of this swiss cheese of a story is true (lot of stuff left out - like what happens to her husbands and her son, Noah, after agreeing to marry a girl in Afghanistan) and my general conflict is whether I should condemn or seek to understand. Quite an interesting read, no doubt. One does wonder about the effect of exposing the Afghani Sisters' secrets. Our book club meeting talked much about the 'ethics' of exposing these expereinces.
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