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We hadn’t discussed a nonfiction book in a while, and because the first Tuesday of the month fell on Voting Day this year, I was a little nervous about what the turnout might be. It turns out, the book group was a welcome distraction; the room was packed and discussion was as lively as ever.

We met to discuss Rory Stewart’s The Places In Between. Stewart, a Scot and historian, decided to walk across Afghanistan in 2002, in the winter after the United States and its allies had arrived in search of Bin Laden and to oust the Taliban. Stewart admits that his walk was a stubborn and even crazy thing to do, but he did it anyway. Stewart followed the route taken by the 15th-century emperor Babur, he takes us deeper into the mountain tribes of Afghanistan, their complex histories, shifting allegiances and isolated lives.

Because there were no discussion questions available, I made some for the group. Here is what I came up with:

• Why do you think that this book was selected for incoming students in the Fall of 2008 at Brown and Brandeis Universities?

• Why does Stewart embark on this journey? What does he hope/expect to find?

• Why is Stewart so fascinated with Babur and his journey? What did you learn from the passages from Babur’s journal?

• What was Stewart’s experience with the Afghans he meets along his journey? What about his traveling companions (including Babur, the dog)? What did you think of his letters of introduction?

• How does Stewart view Afghanistan? Does his book give you a better understanding of the country?

• How does Stewart write about theTurquoise Mountain? Why is this area significant? How does he feel about the Afghans digging up historical artifacts from the area? Why do you think Stewart named his renewal organization Turquoise Mountain?

• What did you think about Stewart’s view of the postcolonials of the past and the supposed ‘neocolonials’ of today? (pg. 247) Where does Stewart fit in?

• In Stewart’s TIME article, “How to Save Afghanistan,” he writes, “Creating a narrative of national identity is not a technical engineering problem but more a question of mythmaking.” In America, we have seen the mythos of the American dream and character invoked countless times in our present election cycle. Given what you have learned in Stewart’s book, do you think a national identity is possible for Afghanistan?

We touched one some of these questions, but kept coming back to Rory Stewart’s writing (a little dry, removed), his journey (amazing but at times read as improbable), and his views of the country and what we should and shouldn’t be doing there. The group was more intrigued and interested in Stewart’s story after his walk, and wished a new forward or afterward had been provided.

Stewart now runs a nonprofit organization, Turquoise Mountain, aimed at renewing and restoring the city of Kabul and supporting its local businesses and traditional crafts.

Reading articles by and about Stewart truly enlarged the group’s appreciation and understanding of The Places In Between. But I must admit that as I was reading it myself, I had concerns about its discussability. Sometimes the books I worry about the most turn out to have the most dynamic discussions, all the more so for proving me wrong.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 at 10:22 pm and is filed under Good Books for Book Clubs, Nonfiction, Reading Guides. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.