Customer Reviews
Joyous, moving, life-changing - By: Mr. R. J. A. Harries, 07 Sep 2008 
I feel for Jason Elliot. He has not the makingsin him of a 'jobbing' travel writer; no Colin Thubron, nor William Dalrymple he. I came to An Unexpected Light by way of his second book, Mirrors of the Unseen, & while a fascinating, idiosyncratic & surprising take on that much-maligned country, one senses within minutes of opening his debut that Afghanistan is a mistress of whom he will never be free. He has poured all that he feels for her & for life - love, warmth, pain - into one book, & with the simple, devastating final paragraph I for one felt sure that he had shot his bolt. Here is an achievement that can never be paralleled.
It was at the age of nineteen, with extraordinary chutzpah - & not a little naivety - that Elliot first crossed the Afghan border from Pakistan. Stirred by tales of the Mujahideen's struggle against brutal Soviet occupation, he sought,in some way no longer clear even to himself, to assist, & to bear witness. While the tale of this first, startling adventure is told midway through the book, its greater part is concerned with a journey made over ten years later, as Kabul was slowly encircled by the Taleban. Elliot paints a searing portrait of a city under indiscriminate bombardment, lightened by amusing & touching portraits of its international residents - journalists, NGOs & missionaries.
But dissatisfied at his own complacency, the author eschews the relative comfort of the capital for the myriad uncertainties of the open road, & it is here that the book comes into its own. A synopsis of his journey would be unnecessary; suffice to say it is the Afghans themselves who are the stars of this work. Elliot's account glows with affection for his hosts; anyone who has travelledin the Middle East will be not unfamiliar with the extraordinary hospitality shown visitors butin this most benighted of countries we are reminded time & again that it is those with least to offer who have most to give.
This is a deeply personal journey on which to join Elliot, but, despite occasional bouts of introspection, at no time did I tire of his company. Erudite, well-read & often downright hilarious, here is a man one wishes one could know personally. Not for many years have I been moved so profoundly by prose; the journey over & the book back on the shelf, life feels a little empty.
From the opening page, you know this is special - By: York8500, 29 Jun 2008 A recommendation from a friend who spent 6-monthsin Afgan with the UK armed forces. What a recommendation, from the first line from the first page you know this is a special book....'From the beginning we became the captives of an unexpected light. Even as we stepped into its unaccustomed brightness that first morning, it seemed probable we had entered a worldin some way encheanted, for which we lacked the proper measure......' Truly wonderful. The prose is outstanding the description of the people just wonderful. I was lostin the wonder & the pain of the country.
Simply Beautiful - By: Liam Cahill, 24 Dec 2007 This book is a work of art. Jason Elliot humbly & honestly weaves through the recollection of his travels with nothing short of beauty & grace.
There are books that you can't put down, & there are books where part of you wants to lock yourselfin a room & devour it while part of you wants to slowly savour every pagein hope that it never ends. This is the latter.
Easily the best travel book I have ever read; almost unarguably better than any single Theroux; Possibly the best book I've ever read - I can't rate this higly enough.
an intimate journey through Afghanistan - By: Asrar, 01 Sep 2007 If your surfing through the vast array of 'travel books' about Afghanistan, trying to decide on where to start, I would recommend this one by Elliot without hesitation. What a breathtaking picture that is painted of that land & its people...
'...All of a sudden I caught sight of a solitary man, walking along a mud embankment that cut obliquely through the fields, half a mile ahead of us. Like a hermit sagein a Chinese painting, he seemed to fit the landscape perfectly. Was it his surroundings that converged with such integrity around him, or the man himself who, by his presence at that moment &in that swift configuration of space & light, lent such nobility to the entire scene? For a few moments they were inseperable, & he might have been the first or last manin the world.'
It's not often that I finish a book from cover to cover, but 'An Unexpected Light' was one of the rare exceptions. It's a superb introduction to that part of the world, to say the least. The writing is intimate, poetic & uplifting with a spiritual vibe running throughout.
I think what finally captures the readers heart here, is the depth of intimacy that Elliot gives to the story throughout the book, & this is what enables the reader to be there on that journey with him.
review of an unexpected light - By: Mr. Cj Pendlebury, 01 Mar 2007 having read many authors on the middle east both travel & political i found jasons 'an unexpected light' admirably living upto its title. to close your eyes at night & through him feeling you arein his place, living & feeling his experiences is a remarkable feeling. I had the book on a shelf for at least 5 years but when i finaly picked it up i just coulndn't put it down. i have just ordered his latest & would consider jason on 'an unexected light' one of my favourite if not my favourite author. he gives the reader a wonderful insight into his world
