Notes from October's Nonfiction Book Discussion

In the first sentence of The Places In Between, Rory Stewart claims, "I'm not good at explaining why I walked across Afghanistan." In our October 2 discussion, we agreed that his motivations were complex, but that that complexity is what makes this book such a pleasure to read. Stewart obviously enjoyed learning about the ancient and recent history and culture of Afghanistan. Yet his greatest incentive seems to have been to walk for walking's sake, to enjoy the movement and to embrace the adventure and peril he met along the way. Stewart does a remarkable job of blending historical and cultural anecdotes with unsentimental yet lyrical descriptions of his day to day experiences and emotions. He segues from descriptions of ancient Ghorid architectural aesthetics to explanations of how he treated his dysentery and narrowly avoided being murdered by Taliban soldiers. And after reading The Places In Between, especially chapters like "Blair and the Koran" and "@afghangov.org," we understand why nation-building in Afghanistan is such a complicated undertaking. Stewart does not rely on political grandstanding to make his points. Instead, he allows his portraits of the various geographical regions, ethnic groups, political factions, and Islamic sects in Afghanistan to accumulate and contrast with those of the well-meaning but shortsighted efforts of foreign administrators and aid workers to bring order to this country that has been at war with outside forces and with itself for over thirty years. Stewart's book offers so much to its readers--it is history, travelogue, meditation journal, political commentary, heroic quest, all in one gorgeous, harrowing read. To learn more about Stewart's efforts to preserve the art and culture of Afghanistan while providing economic opportunities through the nonprofit Turquoise Mountain Foundation, visit www.turquoisemountain.org.

We hope you will join us for our November 6 discussion, the last one of 2007, of Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, an inspiring portrait of public health physician Dr. Paul Farmer.