Istanbul Passage: A Novel [Hardcover]

Joseph Kanon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 29, 2012

A neutral city straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul survived the Second World War as a magnet for refugees and spies, trafficking in secrets and lies rather than soldiers. Expatriate American businessman Leon Bauer was drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs in support of the Allied war effort.

Now, as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of postwar life, Leon is given one last routine assignment. But when the job goes fatally wrong—an exchange of gunfire, a body left in the street, a potential war criminal on his hands—Leon is plunged into a tangle of intrigue, shifting loyalties, and moral uncertainty.

Played out against the bazaars and mosques and faded mansions of this knowing, ancient Ottoman city, Leon’s conflicted attempt to save one life leads to a desperate manhunt that ultimately threatens his own survival. How do you do the right thing when there are only bad choices to be made?

Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Istanbul Passage is the haunting story of a man swept up in the dawn of the Cold War, of an unexpected love affair, and of a city as deceptive as the calm surface waters of the Bosphorus that divides it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fast-moving, thinking man’s thriller. . . tense and atmospheric [with] sinister intrigue.” (The Wall Street Journal)

"Istanbul Passage is a first-rate espionage novel, filled with complexity and thrills, but its greatest success may be in this much more universal literary exploration: how an ordinary man is transformed by extraordinary circumstances." (Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of The Expats, in Publishers Weekly)

"Istanbul Passage bristles with authenticity. Joseph Kanon has a unique and admirable talent: he brilliantly marries suspense and historical fact, wrapping them around a core of pure human drama, while making it seem effortless. This isn't just talent; it's magic.” (Olen Steinhauer, New York Times bestselling author of The Tourist)

"With dialogue that can go off like gunfire and a streak of nostalgia that feels timeless, this book takes its place among espionage novels as an instant classic."

--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

“A masterful work that is as gripping as it is intelligent.” (The Daily Beast)

“Kanon delivers a satisfying atmospheric thriller.” (Entertainment Weekly)

"Superbly crafted… A beautifully conceived and atmospheric thriller; highly recommended." (Library Journal (Starred Review))

"Reminiscent of the works of Graham Greene." (Alexander McCall Smith)

About the Author

Joseph Kanon is the author of five other novels, Los Alamos, The Prodigal Spy, The Good German, Alibi, and Stardust. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a book publishing executive. He lives in New York City.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books; First Edition edition (May 29, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439156417
• ISBN-13: 978-1439156414
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

210 of 221 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "What do you do when there's no right thing to do." A question that turns out to thrill. May 29, 2012

By Jesse Kornbluth TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

A brilliant editor told me that the best time to start reporting a big story is after everyone else is finished. The parade of media leaves town, and the people you want to talk to have plenty of time. With nothing much at stake, you get the real story.

I'm guessing that was one of the attractions of Istanbul, circa late 1945, for Joseph Kanon. The war was over, the big league spies had departed, and the only sustained action was the effort to smuggle European Jews into Palestine. A visitor could almost buy the fantasy: "In Istanbul's dream of itself it was always summer, ladies eating sherbets in garden pavilions, caiques floating by. The city shivered through winters with braziers and sweaters, somehow surprised that it had turned cold at all."

"Istanbul Passage" is billed as a thriller, in the way that the novels of Graham Greene and Alan Furst are thrillers. That is, there are guns, and they are used. But the book is also about values and codes and honor, the kind of big questions that get asked in great movies like "Casablanca" and aren't asked nearly enough in contemporary stories.

For Leon Bauer, an American vaguely involved in the tobacco trade but also an occasional tool of the American consulate's less diplomatic activities, it comes down to this: "What do you do when there's no right thing to do. Just the wrong thing. Either way."

That question makes the book's title a pun. The "passage" isn't just about Jews or, more urgently, a former Nazi collaborator who is being smuggled through Istanbul on his way to a debriefing in Washington. It's equally about Leon Bauer's moral passage. As in: You give your word to perform a service. Along the way, you learn a few things, none of them savory. Do you walk? Is your word your bond? Or do you think this-is-how-the-world-is and don't trouble yourself with doubt?

Such questions make for a lot of talk. Exceptional talk: witty, worried, tart, original, credible. Talk, one way, with a wife who has witnessed a great tragedy and tumbled into a silence so profound no one thinks she'll ever snap out of it. Talk with his consulate contact. Talk with a diplomat's wife, who provides a smart ear and the book's romance. (There is a prostitute in these pages, but her therapy involves less chat.) And, especially juicy, talk with one of the greatest hostesses in modern fiction.

And then there is action, all of it brisk. With many twists and turns that I did not see coming. To say anything about them is to ruin it for you. But, obviously, people are Not Who They Seem to Be.

"It wasn't the money, there were always ways to get more money, but the end of things. Just like that. He shivered...."

"The end of things." How very...now. I shivered too.

117 of 128 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars "Istanbul a magnet for refugees and spies: a tale of espionage" June 15, 2012

By Max Read

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Joseph Kanon is the author of six novels including, Los Alamos, which won the Edgar Award for best first novel; The Good German, which was made into a film starring George Clooney and Cate Blanchett; The Prodigal Spy and Alibi, which earned Kanon the Hammett Award of the International Association of Crime Writers;and Istanbul Passage, his latest novel. Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a book publishing executive. Kanon was last reported to live in New York City with his wife, literary agent Robin Straus, and their two sons.

It was the end of World War II. The Americans and the Russians are vying for dominance in what will become known later as the "Cold War" an era of mistrust; the war is over, everyone is packing up to leave Istanbul. The American's clandestine operation was conducted from the American Consul. It was engaged in disrupting German war supply efforts through the guise of operatives in legitimate businesses like R.J. Reynolds, Commercial Corp and Western Electric. There were others too, humanitarians, passionate for the repatriation of the Jewish refugees with Palestine; clandestine operations that provided illegal passage for them through sea ports on the Bosporus. As the story opens, Leon Bauer and his friend Mihai are proceeding to the sea port for a clandestine pickup of a German. It was arranged by Leon's friend and sometime employer, Tommy, who worked at the American Consul. It was a simple job, pick the German up whisk him away to a safe place and protect him until he is transported out of Turkey by the Americans. That was the plan but not everyone saw the same ending. Leon intercepts the German at the landing; suddenly gun fire erupts, the fire is returned and a dead man is left by the road side above. This begins Leon's ever deepening involvement in uncovering a traitor, protecting the German, hiding from the Russians and avoiding the police and secret police as he struggles with a moral conflict where none of the solutions is a good one.

Kanon weaves a complex plot for his protagonist, Leon Bauer. There is intrigue, some mystery a moral dilemma and a touch of romance inside a love story. The characters are engaging and mysterious woven into the sights and sounds of post war Istanbul. The story is good; the writing has a few detractions however. Kanon chose to write using conversational dialog. The style is difficult to navigate, for unlike a real conversation there are no cues from gestures or facial expression. At times it was impossible to determine who was saying what or to properly hear the inflection; entire paragraphs needed to be reread carefully to digest the meaning - sometimes without success. The difficulty with the writing style also contributed to a decidedly confusing awareness of the evolving plot and an understanding of it as Leon solves the puzzles and leaves the reader still puzzled.

All in all I thought the novel was good but it would have been terrific if Kanon had simply narrated the work rather than engaging in conversation. Not all readers will have a problem with this style of writing but some will. I would suggest that if you are interested in reading this novel that you take advantage of Amazon's free look, reading some of it to see that you will be okay with the writing style before you buy.

I recommend the novel with the above reservations should you wish to add it to your reading list.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars BEST SPY STORY SINCE EARLY LECARRE June 11, 2012

By Kenneth C. Mahieu

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Joseph Kanon's "Istanbul Passage" is a terrific book, 5 stars. It's filled with characters who will stay with you for a long time, an interesting story that slowly pulls you in and becomes more and more complex, excellently interwoven sub-plots that greatly enrich the main story, and tons and tons of atmosphere. And romance and sex.

It's in the early days of post-WWll and Leon, an American "businessman" is asked by his local Consulate boss to meet an unidentified man arriving late at night via fishing boat. And a simple pick-up is suddenly not so simple. Now there's a dead body, and the police are asking embarrassing questions. As is the national security agency, Emniyet. And there are the Russians. And before long you realize you are reading a winner.

Leon has his personal problems as well. His beloved wife is convalescing in a local clinic and has not been responsive for months. He secretly meets with Marina every Thursday afternoon, and then there's Kay, wife of his new boss.

Leon knows Istanbul, its history, landmarks and alleys. And he is very resourceful. So while he is not a full-time agent, much less a spy, he soon is engaged with a couple of them, and learns quickly. But what he is not prepared for are the choices, particularly when all the options are bad ones.

I have read a lot of spy fiction over the years and I haven't read anything better than "Istanbul Passage" since Le Carre's stuff in the early and mid 60's. Enjoy !