The Places in Between

The Places in Between

In January 2002 Rory Stewart walked across Afghanistan-surviving by his wits, his knowledge of Persian dialects and Muslim customs, and the kindness of strangers. By day he passed through mountains covered in nine feet of snow, hamlets burned and emptied by the Taliban, and communities thriving amid the remains of medieval civilizations. By night he slept on villagers' floors, shared their meals, and listened to their stories of the recent and ancient past.

Along the way Stewart met heroes and rogues, tribal elders and teenage soldiers, Taliban commanders and foreign-aid workers. He was also adopted by an unexpected companion-a retired fighting mastiff he named Babur in honor of Afghanistan's first Mughal emperor, in whose footsteps the pair was following.

Through these encounters-by turns touching, con-founding, surprising, and funny-Stewart makes tangible the forces of tradition, ideology, and allegiance that shape life in the map's countless places in between.



Customer Review:
writing that becomes lyrical, a journey that is epic

Rory Stewart's walk across Afghanistan is a spectacular act of courage and a wish to know firsthand. I found it hard to read at times -- for example, when he develops what seemes to be a camaraderie with a man both sadistic and loyal, whose idea of fun is frightening young children. Rory Stewart does not overtly muse about this complex relationship though he describes it so well that presumably the reader wonders about it because Rory Stewart is also uncertain and perhaps uncomfortable with the dichotomy. At other times, he does express clear feelings -- for example, his sense of the superficiality and self-serving nature of those who "help" without first-hand knowledge of what those receiving this "help" actually need and want. There are riveting descriptions of scenes he witnesses or participates in and, as the book goes on, his writing becomes almost lyrical. There is the dog he walks with for part of his journey, Babur. And then there is the man himself. Rory Stewart never seems to pity himself, even when he very nearly succumbs to the cold and snow and being sick. Although he is sometimes in very dangerous situations with the people he meets, one senses by the time he gets near Kabul a weary impatience and doggedness that make him refuse to be bullied after all he has seen and lived through. I highly recommend this book.