Stamboul Train

Stamboul Train by Graham Greene
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am glad that G. Greene first books I read were The Heart of the Matter and Our Man in Havana. If I had started with Stamboul Train, there is a chance I wouldn't finish the book and did not look for other books by this author.
My very first impression was that most of the characters in the book did not look realistic to me. Actually only Miss Warren, a very dynamic journalist, looked to me as a person with blood and bones.
Second strong impression and surprise was emphasis of Jewishness of one of the main characters.
In many reviews of this book I found comments about antisemitism of the author.
I do not share this opinion, actually my opinion is opposite.
Firstly it is gentiles who somehow recognize that Mr Myat is Jewish and it sends a signal , that this person should pay extra tips and charges.
Secondly, Mr Myat is shown as a generous person, somehow accepting, that he has to pay more.
In my opinion it shows the rising of antisemitism in Europe of 1932.
I wonder what was the aim of G. Greene? Was antisemitism so obvious in Europe, that he felt obliged to address this issue?
The story. I have to admit, that due to my disappointment with all the characters in the book I was not very interested with the plot. It was my loyalty to the author whom I rate very high, that I read the book to the last page. And then, retrospectively, I thought that it was quite well designed plot with typical "Greenesque" twists of motives and actions of main characters.

View all my reviews