An Unexpected Light Travels in Afghanistan [Paperback]

With a New Afterword by the Author

Part travelogue, part historical evocation, part personal quest, and part reflection on the joys and perils of passage, this acclaimed synthesis of description and insight remains as relevant today as when it first appeared. Jason Elliot'sAn Unexpected Lightis a remarkable, poignant book about Afghanistan and a heartfelt reflection on the experience of travel itself.

A work of substance and style, witty and moving by turns, never less than wholly passionate . . . What raises the book to the level of a classic is its intensely personal meditation on the magic of unplanned adventure, of the pain and pleasure of pushing into the unknown. The Times (London)

The surprise of the year: a lyrical, unrestrained and enthralling account of a journey into Afghanistan . . . I loved this book. Daily Telegraph

This extraordinary debut is an account of Elliot's two visits to Afghanistan. . . The result is some of the finest travel writing in recent years. With its luminous descriptions of the people, the landscape (even when pockmarked by landmines), and Sufism, this book has all the hallmarks of a classic, and it puts Elliot in the same league as Robert Byron and Bruce Chatwin. Library Journal

An Unexpected Lightis often unexpectedly funny and constantly perceptive, but it is also profound. Jason Goodwin, The New York Times Book Review

Elliot is an enthralling writer with a great gift for evoking places, people and atmosphere, from the pastoral calm of a fertile valley to the terrifying sights and sounds of war. Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times

Lyrical . . . alluring . . . a poignant remembrance, hued in the mixed reds of war and sunset, that comes close to a place that has already changed beyond imagination. Paula Newberg, San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

Humorous, honest and wry . . . [Elliot's] literary talents are exlÂ