Stamboul Train: An Entertainment (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) [Paperback]

Graham Greene (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics | Publication Date: November 3, 1992

Published in 1932, this spy thriller unfolds aboard the Orient Express as it crosses Europe from Ostend to Constantinople. Weaving a web of subterfuge, murder and politics along the way, it focuses upon the disturbing relationship between Myatt, the pragmatic Jew, and chorus girl, Coral Musker.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (November 3, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140185321
• ISBN-13: 978-0140185324
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,014,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Authors Should Learn From Greene, June 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stamboul Train: An Entertainment (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

A young Jewish currant magnate who is only "a Jew" to Europeans; a virginal chorus-girl who is perceived only as a "nice pair of legs"; a newswoman who hates men for their arrogance; a self-impressed murderer; and a fugitive Communist leader are all riding a train whose ultimate destination is Istanboul. Greene skilfully weaves their stories together and apart, forcing the reader to ponder questions about love, sex, duty, and morality.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An almost palpable shock -, September 26, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Stamboul Train: An Entertainment (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

I've read a number of Graham Greene's more acclaimed and "serious" novels and had a variety of reactions, from "loved it!" ("The End of the Affair") to "couldn't get through a chapter" ("The Quiet American"). But none of these prepared me for "Stamboul Train." Modestly described as an "entertainment," and later more or less dismissed by its author, this novel turned out to be, truly, one of the most amazing and moving books I've ever read.

This is an early novel, but there's nothing raw about it. The characters are superficially "stereotypes," but the book turns out to be about the power that externally prescribed roles possess, in life as well as art. Each of the characters, from Myatt the "rich spoiled Jew" to Coral the plain, innocent chorus girl, turn out to be something different from their types, yet they're never wholly able to escape from them. I can't think of an author, except possibly Tolstoy, who does a better job conveying characters who believe two (or three or seven) things at the same time than Greene does here.

Greene does employ stereotypes, particularly of Jews and lesbians, and that might be one reason the book is out of fashion. Yet Greene explicitly grapples with and explodes the stereotype, in the case of Myatt. Even the lesbian lady journalist, who doesn't fare as well (Greene's portrayal of her borders on mean-spiritedness) is so richly characterized and individual that she takes on a life beyond the stereotype.

I haven't even touched on Greene's innovative use of point-of-view - a multi-faceted third-person, with sudden shifts hardly united by an overarching consciousness. The effect mirrors the way these "strangers on a train" slip in and out of each other's lives. It also produces one of the most amazing bedroom scenes I've ever read.

And if the last line doesn't break your heart, I'll give you your money back -

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Greene novel hints at the greatness to come., August 16, 2002

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stamboul Train: An Entertainment (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)

A sad cynicism lies at the root of Greene's dark humor in this very early (1932) novel, Greene's fourth novel and the first entertainment to be written and published for a wide audience. A Jewish businessman, a lesbian journalist, her rebellious young companion, a dancer in need of a job, a Socialist physician wanted in Serbia for treason, and an Austrian thief meet and interact aboard the Orient Express on a trip from London to Istanbul (Stamboul). Each person in this motley group hopes that some remarkable change will occur to him or her as a result of the trip, but though all eventually get their wish, fate has something devious up its sleeve for each one. These twists and turns, sometimes humorous and sometimes immensely sad, constitute the heart of the novel.

Unlike Greene's later novels, with their fully developed characters and religious themes, this novel's characters are often stereotypes, and the action is often designed simply to bring the characters down, showing that no matter what dreams or goals they may have, that ultimately they have no control over their destinies. Greene's later, much more intensely realized themes--sin and atonement, innocence and guilt, love of life and fear of death, piety and corruption, sex and religion--are missing here, and as the action unfolds and the characters are manipulated, the reader easily recognizes the "bones" of the themes which will later come into full flower in Greene's mature philosophical novels. As a series of tours de force, and as a glimpse into the creative process of a writer who, at this point, was just beginning to come into his own, this is an intriguing novel, loaded with insights, a fascinating and enjoyable read. Mary Whipple