Istanbul Passage Audiobook By Joseph Kanon cover art

Istanbul Passage

A Novel

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Istanbul Passage

By: Joseph Kanon
Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

From the acclaimed, best-selling author of Stardust, The Good German, and Los Alamos - a gripping tale of an American undercover agent in 1945 Istanbul who descends into the murky cat-and-mouse world of compromise and betrayal that will come to define the entire postwar era.

A neutral capital straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul has spent the war as a magnet for refugees and spies. Even American businessman Leon Bauer has been drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs for 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, he is given one more assignment, a routine job that goes fatally wrong, plunging him into a tangle of intrigue and moral confusion.

Played out against the bazaars and mosques and faded mansions of this knowing, ancient Ottoman city, Leon's attempt to save one life leads to a desperate manhunt and a maze of shifting loyalties that threatens his own. How do you do the right thing when there are only bad choices to make? Istanbul Passage is the story of a man swept up in the aftermath of war, an unexpected love affair, and a city as deceptive as the calm surface waters of the Bosphorus that divides it.

Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Joseph Kanon's latest novel flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller about the dawn of the Cold War, once again proving why Kanon has been hailed as the "heir apparent to Graham Greene" (The Boston Globe).

©2012 Simon & Schuster; 2012 Joseph Kanon Espionage Historical Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Exciting Scary Ottoman Empire War

Critic reviews

" 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 best-selling author of The Tourist)
"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." ( Publishers Weekly)
"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)
All stars
Most relevant  
Joseph Kanon can write, that's for sure, and Jefferson Mays is a good narrator. Nonetheless, listening to this book was a deeply ambivalent experience for me. For one, WWII was well over sixty years ago. Two, Schindler's List was such an astounding work of art that it is in a class by itself. I know one can't compare an audiobook to a movie, but the story of helping the traumatized Jews leave Germany and Poland has been covered many times. The setting of this book, Istanbul, is an interesting city to read about, and the characters are well drawn. However, the book is weighed down by millions of details, and it really does get boring. The love interest between Leon Bauer and Kay Bishop is one place at which the book comes alive. This furtive relationship is a sidebar, though. The plot centers on Leon's attempt to get a Romanian monster, a true butcher of Jews, out of Istanbul and into the West. It is possible to respect and admire this book without actually enjoying it. Kanon does a great job of weaving historical truth with fiction, but, for my money, Martin Cruz Smith is such a master of this genre that no one can touch him. The atmosphere of the book is quaint and dated. I know that it does not take place in the present, but I just did not feel lured into it. The writing is turgid and distanced. This one is only for true WWII history buffs. Another movie which tells a closely related story (I know I'm straying here) and which few people have seen, is Charlotte Grey. Cate Blanchett is the finest actor of our generation, in my opinion, and the movie tells the story in a gripping, deeply involving way which moves you to a welter of emotions. I would see it five or six times (and I have) before listening to this book.

A very somber experience.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I battled a few times to get into this book and stopped listening. Until I persevered and once past the rather slow and depressing beginning I was gripped. The story moves along and with many twists and turns and a surprise ending. It turned out to be a rather good spy story and very atmospheric of what Istanbul must have been like at the time. Well worth a credit.

Gripping and Surprising Spy Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a really good book.

When thinking about what I wanted to say in this review, Elizabeth Barrett Browning came to mind: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

Here are three:

1. Attention to detail

Like an painter from the Realist School, Joseph Kanon's writing is detailed, accurate, and objective. His greatness is in the details.

This isn't a history lesson (like, say, Michener would write); rather, the book is a work of art. The detail of the setting (Istanbul just after the conclusion of the second World War) serves as the vase for the bouquet of flowers that is the story.

(Humorous aside: As I was listening to this book, I thought to myself that Istanbul Passage had the feel of another book I loved -- Los Alamos. I couldn't recall who wrote Los Alamos, so I went in search of the author. Surprise! Los Alamos is by Joseph Kanon.)

2. Story

Every once in a while, I come across a newspaper article about someone who, on a glorious day, sets out on a creek or river in a raft or kayak expecting to float along aimlessly to some unspecified destination. Along the way, invisible currents present themselves and turn the innocent outing into a situation of great peril.

Here's an example from one such newspaper article: "Before I realized it, the water was pushing me to the right, and I hear my dad yelling me to the left,” Amber recalled, “and it’s like, ‘I can’t. It’s too late at this point.’ ”

Amber could have been describing this book. She has perfectly summed up the story line of Istanbul Passage. What begins as a gentle current of self-inflicted events gradually overtakes American expatriate Leon Bauer. He thinks he's in control until, too late, he realizes that he's not.

I challenge you to find better story telling.

3. Reader

A great reader creates atmosphere and brings characters to life. Jefferson Mays gets an A+ in this regard. Istanbul Passage is a terrific listen.

Swept Away

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a fan of the spy genre, I am so pleased to have stumbled upon this book and author. Vivid writing and gracious narration come together to tell a gripping tale that takes place along the shadowy banks of the Bosphorus.

I can’t wait to delve into this authors work further.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is a great spy story set in post-war Turkey. It has all the intrigue, betrayal and deception you expect from a spy story along with the mysterious atmosphere of Istanbul. I found the characters original and interesting. The protagonist is presented with the type of moral dilemma usually found in literary novels. Unlike some recent mysteries and spy stories, this one kept my interest throughout and it worth your time. The narration takes a little getting used to but the cadence fits the author's prose.

A Spy Story The Keeps Your Interest

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narrator’s voice was aged and cigarette abused. Inappropriate for the female, youthful main/ secondsry characters. Shogun merited better narration.

Aged, cigarette abused, male voice for narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The attention to detail is a feature of this great book. Joseph Kanon is a wonderful writer who's put together a thoughtful thriller set in a fascinating city during a turbulent time. I notice other reviews have quibbled about the narration -they're crackers, it's masterful.

Don't miss the boat.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you try another book from Joseph Kanon and/or Jefferson Mays?

probably not

Would you recommend Istanbul Passage to your friends? Why or why not?

too hard too follow in an audio book, maybe it would've been better as a read

What didn’t you like about Jefferson Mays’s performance?

Too monotone.

Was Istanbul Passage worth the listening time?

It was last month's book club selection, or I wouldn't have finished it.

Was like a homework assignment

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've never been to Istanbul but after this book I'm intrigued to do so. It sound like a fascinating place. The different neighbourhoods sound most interesting and the history wonderful.

However, this is no travelogue its a spy story set in immediately post war Turkey. Spy novels are not normally my thing but I needed something lightish to listen to on holiday and in particular a long flight. This met those needs perfectly. Its not literature and doesn't pretend to be but it is a good story and well told. There were times when the action was as slow as treacle but that was just building up the suspense for there were times the action moved so fast I was out of breath!

It was a good holiday listen and Jefferson Mays did a good job of narrating and getting his tongue round some of those Turkish names.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Bazaar Trader

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This has to be one of the most boring and tedious espionage books I have listened to. Only the narrator saves it. The plot sounds fairly exciting. The main character, Leon, acts as a part time courier for am official, Tommy, at the British Embassy. The opening scene is exciting. Leon is at the docks awaiting a boat which is brining a Romanian defector with USSR/KGB secrets for the Americans. Gun fire erupts and Leon kills his assailant only to discover that he has killed the Brit from whom he has worked as an occasional courier. Obviously Tommy was a double agent.

The balance of the books deals with Leon trying to discover who Tommy really worked for, and trying to see that the Romanian is delivered to the American. Unfortunately this exciting sounding plot is revealed not by action, but by long and often boring conversation with a large number of people Leon meets at parties, at the Embassy, etc.

Combined with this story are the flashbacks about Leon’s life and marriage in pre-war Berlin to Anna, who as the result of traumatic accident now lies in a coma in a nursing home. Leon faithfully goes to see here and hold long conversations with here about what he is doing and what his plans are.

For a little spice, he has an affair with Kay Bishop, an embassy wife, whose husband is murdered. Suspicion falls on Leon. Again most of this is revealed through long conversation. I skipped a lot of the part about his relationship with Kay – he spent one night with here in a hotel room and the conversations they had goes on for several hours on the audio book. I skipped it. There is just too much tedious conversation like that to make the book an entertaining read.

Although it has an exciting plot on paper, the author’s method of development may have a limited appeal. The author know Turkey and Istanbul very well, but even when he goes to a location we get a description of the location not in a word picture, bur rather with a long drawn-out conversation or worse monologues with flash backs about going to the location with Anna.

If you can tolerate a book whose plot development is done mostly with long conversations with a variety of characters and very little action, you may like this book.. But the author is no Eric Ambler or Alan Furst.

Boring and Tedious

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews