Book Reviews

Istanbul Passage

Published on 09/06/12

BOOK REVIEWS BY JOAN G. SMITH JGS 353

ISTANBUL PASSAGE BY: JOSEPH KANON

Joseph Kanon is a very special writer. He takes historical facts and writes a work of fiction that gives the reader a view of the reality of that time and place. He takes you behind the headlines with his characters and you begin to see cause and effect.

Mr. Kanon has not written a historical novel for sometime, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. Istanbul Passage begins in Istanbul in 1945 – WWII has just ended and the Russians, Turks, Americans, Brits and Jews are all in a period of making decisions about the future. Who are friends and allies, who are now enemies and where do we go from here?

Istanbul was neutral during WWII and became a Central gathering place for spies and refuges, adrift in secrets and lies. Leon Bauer was drawn into this world during the war and did courier runs and all sorts of odd jobs for the Allied war effort. Now is a time of change and he becomes entangled in a web that leads to a fight for his own survival. He knows Istanbul and Turkey like the back of his hand. As the novel unfolds, you get a view of the politics and choices that have surely led to where we find ourselves today , 2012. This is the Dawn of the Cold War and sometimes there are only bad choices, and Leon has been an honest man, but what is the right thing?

This Ottoman city is ancient, beautiful and filled with bazaars, mosques and crumbling mansions and Leon has studied it and learned to love it. The characters reflect all the nations that have changed its history and passed on through.

Years ago I read The Good German and Los Alamos and never forgot the history portrayed in their pages. Joseph Kanon is a winner of both the Edgar Award and the Hammet Prize. He lives in New York City. The dialogue is wonderful and the view unique in Istanbul Passage.