The Places in Between
Stewart could not have chosen a more difficult journey (hazardous mountain terrain in the middle of winter, just months after the fall of the Taliban regime and in the aftermath of American-led bombing). Each village he comes to bears the scars of conflict. Tensions simmer, Kalashnikovs are brandished. Leaving Herat, an Afghan man asks him, “Do you want to die?”
Afghani politics and the coalition invasion lie in the background to his walk and sometimes affect the story. For the most part, however, this is a story of a fragmented society in a very poor, war-devastated country. However, each village differs from its neighbors, and these differences make up a fascinating part of the book.
As these illustrations might suggest, Stewart's writing is admirably sparse. By seeming to report just facts, he constructs a wonderful narrative in which many things are unsaid (but implied). He is simple and direct.