Customer Reviews

Midnight Express

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This legendary book (and later movie of the same caliber) has provoked and is still provoking so much off the point debate that it's hard to fathom.

A discussion about Turkey and its pros and cons belongs either in a different forum or upon a different book as a vehicle for argumentation. Even Hayes himself despite his martyrdom had said publicly after his escape to the States that his intention had never been a defamation of Turkey or the Turks. So lets leave it at that.

To the book itself, this is indeed a momumental reading describing the utter and surreal ordeal that Hayes, a convicted hash smuggler endured while incarcerated in the Turkish prison system. He describes a system which was designed (or left to its own devices?) to devalue human existence and destroy human dignity. In conditions mildly called appalling, Hayes went through 5 years of sheer soul and bodily torture until his incredible and unlikely escape which spared him life imprisonment.

He himself spares the reader none of all the disturbing details and descriptions as he unravels his nightmarish narrative. The Midnight Express is a book that punches hard at the incarceration system (as prisons in many other parts of the world are similar or worse) and the sheer disregard for human dignity. Credit to Hayes for not trying to redeem himself by claiming wrongful conviction. He accepts that he commited a crime according to that country's law and that he knew he was as he was commiting it. He doesnt accept (to put it again, VERY mildly) the severety of the penalty and the way it was carried out.

It's a book that will no doubt unnerve the reader who's unfamiliar with such literature or who's never given much thought to such issues. It's a scary experience even as an innocent turning of pages and will keep you hostage with its gloomy, borderline deathly and insane atmosphere. It will also provide some serious food for thought about the limits of human perseverence as a whole.

Written in a very direct and engaging style, Hayes proved a talent in writting and if you've read other such books you know that not everyone could achieve the level of directness and the effect of making you feel other the way he did.

Worthy of its fame by any standard. For anyone interested in a similar and perhaps even more disturbing book try the "Damage done" by Warren Fellows.

This is the vivid, detailed, and eye-opening autobiography of student dropout Billy Hayes, who relates his years from 1970-75 in the prisons of Turkey, where he was imprisoned for smuggling hashish. Captured at Istanbul airport by a random search, he has to learn to handle himself inside quickly if he is to survive. His case takes years to go through the courts, slowed down by the grinding wheels of the Turkish injustice system, crooked lawyers, and the bureaucracy found the world over in these cases. American status does not protect him, he is sentenced to life imprisonment, commuted to thirty years. There are graphic descriptions of everything that goes on: there are Turks, Europeans, one or two other Americans, and children all imprisoned together.

He has various plans for escape, the title of the book being his code word for his escape plan. His first plan revolves around getting a psychiatric discharge or escape from an easy prison. A couple of the other prisoners do escape, one by sheer cunning and the other by clever bribery. One or two fail spectacularly. One man is beaten so badly by the warders that he murders one of them when he is released and gets put straight back into the same prison, where now his status is much higher, as murder is considered a 'manly' crime there. Billy keeps himself going by correspondence with home and a past girlfriend, and adapting to but not succumbing to the prison regime. He has to learn to stay alive as a person and keep his humanity by forming friendships and alliances where he can.

One of the great ironies of being inside in Turkey for smuggling hash is that there is free availability of hashish and other drugs, which are used by all--police, prison guards, and prisoners alike. Eventually he is transferred to a low security island prison where he can steal a boat, row to the mainland, and escape to Greece. He returned home, much the wiser for his experiences, and co-wrote this book and also signed the Hollywood deal which led to the famous film of the same name. An exciting story, and an eye-opening account of the seamy side of Turkey.

Read this book in the 80's, curious if it would be as good as the movie. It wasn't as near as exciting, but just as entertaining.

I was surprised the movie didn't mention Billy Hayes 1st attempted escape; it would have been great movie material- Hayes' description formed vivid mental images that would have been great low-light film sequences.

His final escape to Greece was much more interesting than the movie's little jump dance in the Turkish streets.

Anyway neither the book or the movie disappoint. It is a classic of the prison-genre, of the human spirit, and of good ol' survival.

It is not on the scale of Papillion, and should never be compared to that work... Papillion is unique, kind of untouchable really.

This is one of the best prison books alongside "Papillion," "Death and the Maiden," and "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

It's purpose is to juxtapose foolish freedom with insane ancient cultures. The result is tragic, terrifying, and almost beyond comprehension in it's cruelty. Turkey has been infamous for it's torture techinques for CENTURIES! And if you don't believe prison life in Muslim countries isn't still like this, you must be crazy! (Read "Not Without My Daughter;" the film doesn't even begin to touch on the horrors Betty Mahmoody survived in Iran). As another (very disturbed) reviewer points out here, William Hoffer is
the co-author of both books, NOT because he is a "one sided, racist" but because that's the genre he's an expert in! AND, HE IS NOT TELLING THE STORIES, BILLY AND BETTY ARE!!!

One REALLY cool note: you can see the REAL Billy Hayes acting in a play about prison life filmed at the Odessey Theatre in Los Angeles in 1988! It's called, "The Cage" and it's only available on half(dot)com. Hard to believe that he'd want to recreate the "sadism of prison guards and the inmates' frenzied cruelty to each other" (Variety) only 13 years after escaping the Turkish prison!

Both the book and the film is full of exaggeration, revenge and hatred towards Turkey and Turks. Only 30-40% of the story may be true which I am pretty sure would also be the same in many countries 36 years ago. All the rest is full of lies. But portraying one of the worlds most interesting and beautiful city like it was is a real shame and pitty. I am a Greek living in Athens who visits Istanbul and beaches at the south of Turkey with my family at least twice a year and know what I am talking about. I don't know anyone who was in jail but dealt with police a few times and everyone was always nice and very helpful especiallyy to foreigners.

It's incredible that this yankee brat likened this drivel of book to Papillon, one of the greatest books ever. How dares he, this spoilt NY brat who couldn't figure out if to smoke hash or pot or be gay or not.

It's one of the worst books ever! It has nothing to do with Papillon at all!

It's a diary of a whiner, a naive primitive, spoilt American, and a criminal brat.

Let's face it, he did attempt to smuggle and he was a drug user. There's no way around it!

Papillon is a march towards grace and soul freedom over elements and hurdles of life told in the most adventurous style. This lowly tale is a strife of a spoilt New Yorker, who never once had to work in his life and had everything handed to him on a platter. His tribulations are of personal nature only second guessing his sexuality and penchant for drug abuse. Nothing in the book makes for good reading. It's of no spiritual or uplifting value.