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Arthur Simpson #2
Βρόμικη Ιστορία
Το παρόν βιβλίο του Έρικ Αμπλερ (1909-1998) αναπτύσσει ένα περαιτέρω επεισόδιο στην αυτοβιογραφία αυτού του εξαθλιωμένου τυχοδιώκτη, του Άρθουρ Άμπντελ Σίμσον -του παλιού γνώριμου απ' το Τοπκαπί στην Κωνσταντινούπολη- που ο φάκελός του στη Ιντερπόλ τον περιγράφει εναλλάξ ως διερμηνέα, σωφέρ, σερβιτόρο, προαγωγό, πορνογράφο και ξεναγό. Αυτή τη φορά ό Σίμσον βρίσκεται στην Αθήνα και προσπαθεί απεγνωσμένα, επισήμως και ανεπισήμως, να αποκτήσει ένα έγκυρο διαβατήριο. Όμως ο κόσμος της νομιμότητας δεν τον έχει ανάγκη (δεν τον είχε ποτέ) και αναγκάζεται να στραφεί στην μαύρη αγορά, όπου τα "έγκυρα" διαβατήρια είναι ακριβά. Αδυνατώντας να πληρώσει μετρητοίς, αναγκάζεται να πληρώσει σε είδος. Οι κακοτυχίες του θα τον φέρουν στην Ερυθρά Θάλασσα και σε διάφορα λιμάνια της Αφρικής, όπου θα βρεθεί άθελά του στη θέση του μισθοφόρου μιας εταιρείας με συμφέροντα σε κάποια θολά νεοσύστατα κρατίδια.
Με τον Άρθουρ Σίμσον, ο Έρικ Άμπλερ δημιούργησε έναν εντυπωσιακό τυχοδιώκτη, άπατρι, εκτός των ορίων. "Η ζωή σας δεν είναι παρά μια μεγάλη βρόμικη ιστορία" του λέει επικριτικά ο Βρετανός υποπρόξενος στην Αθήνα. Μπορεί να είναι αντιηρωικός τύπος, όμως όπου εμφανίζεται οι ίντριγκες πυκνώνουν, το σασπένς εντείνεται, και υπάρχει πάντα αυτό το αλάθητο αίσθημα πραγματικού κινδύνου που διατρέχει όλα τα μυθιστορήματα του Άμπλερ.
Η πικρόχολη αυτή ιστορία, με το πολύ χιούμορ, αποτελεί μια από τις σπουδαιότερες επιτυχίες του Έρικ Άμπλερ, του συγγραφέα της θαυμάσιας "Μάσκας του Δημήτριου", που έχει επίσης κυκλοφορήσει στις εκδόσεις Άγρα. Ο Άμπλερ, που το ταλέντο του συγκρίθηκε και αντιπαρατέθηκε στο ταλέντο του Γκράχαμ Γκρην, δημιούργησε με το έργο του έναν φρενήρη και μπαρόκ κόσμο, που επηρέασε συχνά τον Όρσον Ουέλλς.
Με τον Άρθουρ Σίμσον, ο Έρικ Άμπλερ δημιούργησε έναν εντυπωσιακό τυχοδιώκτη, άπατρι, εκτός των ορίων. "Η ζωή σας δεν είναι παρά μια μεγάλη βρόμικη ιστορία" του λέει επικριτικά ο Βρετανός υποπρόξενος στην Αθήνα. Μπορεί να είναι αντιηρωικός τύπος, όμως όπου εμφανίζεται οι ίντριγκες πυκνώνουν, το σασπένς εντείνεται, και υπάρχει πάντα αυτό το αλάθητο αίσθημα πραγματικού κινδύνου που διατρέχει όλα τα μυθιστορήματα του Άμπλερ.
Η πικρόχολη αυτή ιστορία, με το πολύ χιούμορ, αποτελεί μια από τις σπουδαιότερες επιτυχίες του Έρικ Άμπλερ, του συγγραφέα της θαυμάσιας "Μάσκας του Δημήτριου", που έχει επίσης κυκλοφορήσει στις εκδόσεις Άγρα. Ο Άμπλερ, που το ταλέντο του συγκρίθηκε και αντιπαρατέθηκε στο ταλέντο του Γκράχαμ Γκρην, δημιούργησε με το έργο του έναν φρενήρη και μπαρόκ κόσμο, που επηρέασε συχνά τον Όρσον Ουέλλς.
348 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
29 people are currently reading
309 people want to read
About the author
Eric Ambler
113 books494 followersSuspense novels of noted English writer Eric Ambler include
Passage of Arms
(1959).
Eric Ambler began his career in the early 1930s and quickly established a reputation as a thriller of extraordinary depth and originality. People often credit him as the inventor of the modern political thriller, and John Le Carré once described him as "the source on which we all draw."
Ambler began his working life at an engineering firm and then at an advertising agency and meanwhile in his spare time worked on his ambition, plays. He first published in 1936 and turned full-time as his reputation. During the war, people seconded him to the film unit of the Army, where he among other projects authored The Way Ahead with Peter Ustinov.
He moved to Hollywood in 1957 and during eleven years to 1968 scripted some memorable films, A Night to Remember and The Cruel Sea, which won him an Oscar nomination.
In a career, spanning more than six decades, Eric Ambler authored 19 books, the crime writers' association awarded him its gold dagger award in 1960. Joan Harrison married him and co-wrote many screenplays of Alfred Hitchcock, who in fact organized their wedding.
Eric Ambler began his career in the early 1930s and quickly established a reputation as a thriller of extraordinary depth and originality. People often credit him as the inventor of the modern political thriller, and John Le Carré once described him as "the source on which we all draw."
Ambler began his working life at an engineering firm and then at an advertising agency and meanwhile in his spare time worked on his ambition, plays. He first published in 1936 and turned full-time as his reputation. During the war, people seconded him to the film unit of the Army, where he among other projects authored The Way Ahead with Peter Ustinov.
He moved to Hollywood in 1957 and during eleven years to 1968 scripted some memorable films, A Night to Remember and The Cruel Sea, which won him an Oscar nomination.
In a career, spanning more than six decades, Eric Ambler authored 19 books, the crime writers' association awarded him its gold dagger award in 1960. Joan Harrison married him and co-wrote many screenplays of Alfred Hitchcock, who in fact organized their wedding.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 7, 2021
Για όσους γνωρίζουν τον Ambler αποκλειστικά από τον αριστουργηματικό αλλά σκοτεινό "Η μάσκα του Δημητρίου" θα εκπλαγούν ευχάριστα από αυτήν την απολαυστική περιπέτεια. Ο επανερχόμενος Άρθουρ Αμπντέλ Σίμσον, τυχοδιώκτης και φτωχοδιαβολος, απο τα σοκάκια του Πειραιά θα βρεθεί στα βάθη της Αφρικής, μπλεγμένος άθελά του στα μετα-αποικιοκρατικά παιχνίδια κερδοσκοπικών εταιριών με χαμηλό σεβασμό σε ζητήματα εθνικής ανεξαρτησίας. Κάθε γύρισμα σελίδας αφήνει ένα χαμόγελο στον αναγνώστη λόγω της ζωηρής πρόζας που βρίθει αιχμηρού και ευφυούς χιούμορ.
Η μετάφραση του Ν. Γ. Πεντζίκη είναι υποδειγματική.
Η μετάφραση του Ν. Γ. Πεντζίκη είναι υποδειγματική.
August 9, 2019
More bitter than the first Arthur Abdel Simpson novel, The Light of Day, this second book extends Simpson's story and has him become an unfortunate soldier of fortune in Africa. Despite the slightly more acidic taste of the novel, along with its bloodiness, Dirty Story is also more of a comedic success than the earlier story. And that is something of an achievement, because The Light of Day is one of the most appealing comedic thrillers I've yet run across.
Ampler has one more talent as well. His stories constantly advance the plot and keep the story churning. But he's more than a mere action writer. His stories about Simpson carry a clear moral message as well. Or at least they take a look at morality as it was evolving in the late 1950s and 1960s. That is, the established boundaries have given way. Immorality is now a virtue. And so it's disquieting to some that a petty conman, a rogue like Arthur Simpson carries more morality than the exemplars of twentieth century enlightenment, international corporations, newly independent Third World nations, and governments intent on fighting "corruption" and "theft." Arthur does those things--but on a human scale and for reasons of survival. Those on the other side, act out of greed or the sadistic joy of inflicting pain.
Ampler has one more talent as well. His stories constantly advance the plot and keep the story churning. But he's more than a mere action writer. His stories about Simpson carry a clear moral message as well. Or at least they take a look at morality as it was evolving in the late 1950s and 1960s. That is, the established boundaries have given way. Immorality is now a virtue. And so it's disquieting to some that a petty conman, a rogue like Arthur Simpson carries more morality than the exemplars of twentieth century enlightenment, international corporations, newly independent Third World nations, and governments intent on fighting "corruption" and "theft." Arthur does those things--but on a human scale and for reasons of survival. Those on the other side, act out of greed or the sadistic joy of inflicting pain.
May 4, 2017
Arthur Abdel Simpson appears in an earlier Ambler novel, upon which the film Topkapi is based. In this sequel, which is really a stand alone novel, the duplicitous scoundrel that is Arthur Simpson lies and boasts his way into a group of tough white mercenaries, employed by an unscrupulous mining company, to annex a prime piece of territory from an African country. For the most part, the reader cannot help liking the hapless Arthur as he finds himself slipping deeper and deeper into a dangerous mess of his own making. A typical scoundrel, Arthur always feels he is hard done by and believes his own lies to be the truth.
This is an amusing and humorous novel on the surface, but there are serious issues running throughout, not least how big business however unprincipled remains unaccountable to justice, while a minor criminal will be punished beyond the bounds of what is necessary.
As always with the novels of Eric Ambler, this is a highly entertaining and thrilling read which also packs a powerful message.
This is an amusing and humorous novel on the surface, but there are serious issues running throughout, not least how big business however unprincipled remains unaccountable to justice, while a minor criminal will be punished beyond the bounds of what is necessary.
As always with the novels of Eric Ambler, this is a highly entertaining and thrilling read which also packs a powerful message.
May 13, 2025
Very minor tidying edits 30 June 2021.
Perhaps a good example of the serviceable and entertaining story produced by a seasoned mystery-thriller writer sometime after the powerful novel which established their reputation: Nicholas Monsarrat with The Cruel Sea comes to mind as does Alastair McLean with HMS Ulysses.
Eric Ambler’s fame rests on The Mask of Dimitrios and Journey Into Fear. A generation later comes Dirty Story, featuring disreputable Arthur Simpson, an Anglo–Egyptian, with a lineage unlikely to generate success, a man who is perpetually stateless, often needing to get out of a country in a hurry. Arthur’s lack of scruples is exceeded only by the nefarious conduct of the mining enterprises he tangles with as an accidental mercenary in Africa. Dirty Story reminded me of Graham Greene’s Scoop and deserves to be considered an enjoyable entertainment.
Perhaps a good example of the serviceable and entertaining story produced by a seasoned mystery-thriller writer sometime after the powerful novel which established their reputation: Nicholas Monsarrat with The Cruel Sea comes to mind as does Alastair McLean with HMS Ulysses.
Eric Ambler’s fame rests on The Mask of Dimitrios and Journey Into Fear. A generation later comes Dirty Story, featuring disreputable Arthur Simpson, an Anglo–Egyptian, with a lineage unlikely to generate success, a man who is perpetually stateless, often needing to get out of a country in a hurry. Arthur’s lack of scruples is exceeded only by the nefarious conduct of the mining enterprises he tangles with as an accidental mercenary in Africa. Dirty Story reminded me of Graham Greene’s Scoop and deserves to be considered an enjoyable entertainment.
February 9, 2020
Eric Ambler's Light of Day, which was the basis for the movie Topkapi, introduced Arthur Abdel Simpson (played by Peter Ustinov in the film). Simpson is a small-time thief and swindler, son of a British soldier stationed in Cairo before the First World War and his Egyptian mistress, raised in both Egypt and Britain and straddling the two cultures. Simpson is a survivor, living by his wits from an early age, hustling a precarious living from petty scams while clinging to a notion of respectability resting on a claim to British citizenship that Her Majesty's government fails to recognize. He is amoral and good-humored, comical, contemptible and pathetic by turns, and we sympathize with him in spite of ourselves.
In this one he is again jousting with British officialdom; the consul in Athens refuses to grant him a passport and he is left stateless with both his Egyptian passport and his Greek residence permit expired. Unable to afford a forged passport, he is faced with nothing but bad choices and, following a stint driving for an outfit filming a pornographic movie against the backdrop of Greek ruins, he winds up on a ship heading south through the Suez canal with his new best friend, a ruthless French mercenary. In Djibouti they hitch on with a mining company offering security work in a fictional country somewhere to the west of Sudan, and when Simpson realizes he's signed up to participate in a corporate coup involving live ammunition and real death, it's too late to back out. Treachery abounds on all sides, and this veteran survivor has to figure out a way to do what he does best.
It's good fun, like all of Ambler's work firmly rooted in the real world and full of convincing detail, and yes, you will root for Arthur Abel Simpson even though you don't approve of him.
In this one he is again jousting with British officialdom; the consul in Athens refuses to grant him a passport and he is left stateless with both his Egyptian passport and his Greek residence permit expired. Unable to afford a forged passport, he is faced with nothing but bad choices and, following a stint driving for an outfit filming a pornographic movie against the backdrop of Greek ruins, he winds up on a ship heading south through the Suez canal with his new best friend, a ruthless French mercenary. In Djibouti they hitch on with a mining company offering security work in a fictional country somewhere to the west of Sudan, and when Simpson realizes he's signed up to participate in a corporate coup involving live ammunition and real death, it's too late to back out. Treachery abounds on all sides, and this veteran survivor has to figure out a way to do what he does best.
It's good fun, like all of Ambler's work firmly rooted in the real world and full of convincing detail, and yes, you will root for Arthur Abel Simpson even though you don't approve of him.
January 12, 2026
This novel was originally published as This Gun For Hire, but presumably changed to Dirty Story because there was also a film called This Gun For hire, based on A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene, whose “entertainments” Ambler’s books sometimes resemble.
In the 1930s and '40s, Abler write communist spy thrillers, but this is a different kettle of mercenaries. We catch up with Arthur Simpson from The Light of Day: half British, half Egyptian - although neither the British or Egyptian authorities want him or will issue a passport to him, which leads him to become a solider of fortune in a former French colony in Africa (possibly based on the Central African Republic) after the country has become independent. By 1967, Ambler was no longer a communist, but his left wing sympathies had not dissipated as we see that although the colonialist rulers have gone home, they are still running their old territories through ruthless business interests as well as stirring up trouble between sovereign nations over the arbitrary borders that the Europeans had imposed on their colonial subjects.
The statelessness that Arthur experiences still seems very relevant today with people’s nationalities being withdrawn from them or refugees moving across borders and ending up nationless.
Despite the Penguin re-issue, it’s a little hard to get hold of, so here’s the archive.org link: https://archive.org/details/dirtystor...
In the 1930s and '40s, Abler write communist spy thrillers, but this is a different kettle of mercenaries. We catch up with Arthur Simpson from The Light of Day: half British, half Egyptian - although neither the British or Egyptian authorities want him or will issue a passport to him, which leads him to become a solider of fortune in a former French colony in Africa (possibly based on the Central African Republic) after the country has become independent. By 1967, Ambler was no longer a communist, but his left wing sympathies had not dissipated as we see that although the colonialist rulers have gone home, they are still running their old territories through ruthless business interests as well as stirring up trouble between sovereign nations over the arbitrary borders that the Europeans had imposed on their colonial subjects.
The statelessness that Arthur experiences still seems very relevant today with people’s nationalities being withdrawn from them or refugees moving across borders and ending up nationless.
Despite the Penguin re-issue, it’s a little hard to get hold of, so here’s the archive.org link: https://archive.org/details/dirtystor...
January 4, 2026
Finishing this on the same day the United States kidnapped the president of another country and will now “run” it while stealing and selling its oil and rare earth minerals makes this book hit very different.
On a lighter note Arthur Simpson is the patron saint of lost travelers and passport seekers.
On a lighter note Arthur Simpson is the patron saint of lost travelers and passport seekers.
July 15, 2019
Mask of Dimitrios is a terrific 1939 thriller and I like Eric Ambler very much. I thoroughly enjoyed this mid-60s book, but somehow it's more dated than his earlier books as though he was trying too hard to modernise his writing but not quite managing to pull it off. That said, a good yarn with some good ideas inside it, and I'd read more like it for sure.
August 17, 2020
Decades after the WW2 ended were marked by anti-colonial movements and fierce fights for independence throughout the Africa and Asia. Fighting in these dirty wars on the side of European settlers were mercenaries. Some where rag tag groups, some were professional outfits but common denominator was the type of man fighting in these troops - they were usually battle veterans from the WW2 and earlier colonial conflicts that just could not get back to civilian society. But then there were also true wanderers/adventureers and petty criminals that just found themselves in the middle of the conflict with no idea what is going on and trying to find the way to survive.
And in this second group we can place our protagonist Arthur Abdel Simpson. Petty criminal operating in Athens he will find himself in quite the predicament when British Embassy decides to put him on the so called black list. For all means and purposes stateless Arthur tries to find the way out (as he says getting on the wrong end of Greek immigration is not something to aim for) but his further scheming just gets him deeper and deeper in trouble until finally he finds himself on the ship running away from Greek imprisonment. This short break ends in East Africa only for Arthur to find out that East African authorities look down on people like him. This (and his uncontrollable blabbering that constantly puts him in danger) will bring him to attention of one of the mysterious companies mining ore in the dark jungles of Africa. Presenting himself as a former soldier Arthur gets recruited into mercenary outfit alongside several unsavory characters and finds himself in the middle of the conflict around ore deposits.
Ambler presents the reality of conflict in Africa in a very non-nonsense way. Told from the perspective of a petty thief story shows how he is able to look at all the business vying for the foothold in Africa as nothing more that global scale pirates that play now independent nations one against another in order to achieve their goals. As Arthur is hunted by police because of few hundred drachma's these global robbers are pardoned after instigating wars and looting treasures. So when he sees opportunity he tries to play them one against the other in order to earn some money but of course nothing goes according to the plan.
Excellent book, story flows very fast and gives portrayal of Africa as seen by Europeans in the period.
Ending is priceless - I could envision Dereck Trotter from "Only Fools and Horses" saying the words at the end :) Once a shady character, always the shady character :)
Recommended to all fans of thrillers.
And in this second group we can place our protagonist Arthur Abdel Simpson. Petty criminal operating in Athens he will find himself in quite the predicament when British Embassy decides to put him on the so called black list. For all means and purposes stateless Arthur tries to find the way out (as he says getting on the wrong end of Greek immigration is not something to aim for) but his further scheming just gets him deeper and deeper in trouble until finally he finds himself on the ship running away from Greek imprisonment. This short break ends in East Africa only for Arthur to find out that East African authorities look down on people like him. This (and his uncontrollable blabbering that constantly puts him in danger) will bring him to attention of one of the mysterious companies mining ore in the dark jungles of Africa. Presenting himself as a former soldier Arthur gets recruited into mercenary outfit alongside several unsavory characters and finds himself in the middle of the conflict around ore deposits.
Ambler presents the reality of conflict in Africa in a very non-nonsense way. Told from the perspective of a petty thief story shows how he is able to look at all the business vying for the foothold in Africa as nothing more that global scale pirates that play now independent nations one against another in order to achieve their goals. As Arthur is hunted by police because of few hundred drachma's these global robbers are pardoned after instigating wars and looting treasures. So when he sees opportunity he tries to play them one against the other in order to earn some money but of course nothing goes according to the plan.
Excellent book, story flows very fast and gives portrayal of Africa as seen by Europeans in the period.
Ending is priceless - I could envision Dereck Trotter from "Only Fools and Horses" saying the words at the end :) Once a shady character, always the shady character :)
Recommended to all fans of thrillers.
December 31, 2019
Eric Ambler is a good old friend of mine and just Dirty Story was the first book I have read of him when I was like 15 years old, a century ago, it feels like. After Dirty Story, I read all of his books and actually I have a plan of re-reading much of his work. He is like an unknown uncle of John le Carré and a missing brother of Graham Greene, having written so many immensely well readable novels with historical and political implications of his time, always in the form of a thriller. Dirty Story is the stand alone part 2 of anti-hero Arthur Abdel Simpson, a filthy coward cheating his way through life, mostly having bad luck.
It is bad luck that forces him to become a mercenary for a company who wants to overthrow the government of an unnamed African state in order to make a deal with new leaders to exploit valuable metals.
As usual, Mr. Ambler deploys a staff of colorful characters.
It is bad luck that forces him to become a mercenary for a company who wants to overthrow the government of an unnamed African state in order to make a deal with new leaders to exploit valuable metals.
As usual, Mr. Ambler deploys a staff of colorful characters.
November 8, 2021
Possibly one of the most original "serial" writers I know of....
In this book, his sometimes (anti) hero Arthur Abdel Simpson starts off being a fixer for a pornographic film, continues as a stowaway on a steamer to Africa, tried to lead a mutiny before ending up as a mercenary in one of the continent's emerging nations.
That's the big canvass picture - the details are far more fascinating.
Twists, turns, comedy, action, intrigue, edge of the seat tension - how can one book have all of this whilst remaining both accessible and intellectually stimulating?
Well, it's what Eric Ambler does (did, sadly) - every time.
In this book, his sometimes (anti) hero Arthur Abdel Simpson starts off being a fixer for a pornographic film, continues as a stowaway on a steamer to Africa, tried to lead a mutiny before ending up as a mercenary in one of the continent's emerging nations.
That's the big canvass picture - the details are far more fascinating.
Twists, turns, comedy, action, intrigue, edge of the seat tension - how can one book have all of this whilst remaining both accessible and intellectually stimulating?
Well, it's what Eric Ambler does (did, sadly) - every time.
December 29, 2018
I am a big Eric Ambler fan and this book did not disappoint. It has plenty of action, involving a dispute between two African nations that is just as relevant today as when the book was written in 1967, but is definitely character-driven. Told by the stateless Arthur Abdel Simpson, who lives a marginal existence on the edge of the law, it is in turns funny and horrifying. Arthur has more backbone than he thought and a moral streak which helps to make him a sympathetic character although you would not want to let him near your wallet.
April 20, 2018
This is an unusual book for Eric Ambler: his usual plot is a naive, ordinary American or British everyman/anti-hero getting in trouble with greasy foreigners. This time, the naive everyman/anti-hero getting in trouble IS the greasy foreigner--Arthur Simpson, the bumbling, cowardly, delightfully immoral protagonist of Ambler's earlier book THE LIGHT OF DAY. In that book, he faced terrifying dangers: the risk of a very long prison sentence in a Turkish prison, and, the risk of being murdered by angry criminal conspirators. Here, in DIRTY STORY, he faces an almost equally terrifying danger: the possibility of becoming completely stateless, being unwelcome in every country on Earth, unable to work, or live, anywhere. The tension is summarized in one short paragraph: "My passport was received with a mocking smile....We were warned against attempting to find work, unless it was on a ship leaving Djibouti.... We were told, finally, that if either of us was still in the territory seven days hence, he had better be able to swim."
This book is particularly topical today because the strategic technological importance of rare earth metals--scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanide elements--is a key plot element. Today the world is vulnerable to China's near-monopoly on these elements; if they cut off your country's access to them, then your country's electronics industry, and much of its chemical industry, will grind to a halt.
This book is particularly topical today because the strategic technological importance of rare earth metals--scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanide elements--is a key plot element. Today the world is vulnerable to China's near-monopoly on these elements; if they cut off your country's access to them, then your country's electronics industry, and much of its chemical industry, will grind to a halt.
May 24, 2017
Fine later Ambler thriller features the return of Arthur Abdel Simpson (from THE LIGHT OF DAY) this time getting mixed up with mercenaries in Central Africa during the mid-Sixties, when European empires were both crumbling while trying to retain their exploitative grip on the continent.
Hapless Simpson is a true stateless man of the world in this crisp and twisting thriller. It takes a little time to get rolling as poor haplesshero is dragged about by events out of control and agendas out of his sight. Eventually, of course, he finds himself in the middle of a war he wants nothing to do with.
The world has changed in ways Ambler failed to predict and this one may not be up to his pre-World War II classics, but definitely worth any serious thriller fan's time.
Hapless Simpson is a true stateless man of the world in this crisp and twisting thriller. It takes a little time to get rolling as poor haplesshero is dragged about by events out of control and agendas out of his sight. Eventually, of course, he finds himself in the middle of a war he wants nothing to do with.
The world has changed in ways Ambler failed to predict and this one may not be up to his pre-World War II classics, but definitely worth any serious thriller fan's time.
February 9, 2020
This is almost my first read by Ambler, since the only other book by him I read centuries ago and don't remember anything about it. The protagonist is quite amusing, both due to the situations he finds himself in and the way he responds to those; I should read the first novel in which he appeared, soon. The story is fast paced, with things happening nonstop. The darkly humourous description of the way big corporations exploited the unwitting third-world nations is spot-on as it is delectable. At the end, I felt that the book was too short; I would have loved to follow Mr. Simpson in his misadventures a lot further.
August 5, 2025
A veritable potboiler of a tale as our antihero - middle aged, impecunious, stateless, few (if any) redeeming characteristics, with more business falures behind him than Trump but still trying to come up with a plan to raise enough money to acquire a fake passport to give him some claim to some dubioous nationality which will bequeath him sufficient identity to ensure (probably) that he won't instantly be locked in limbo to await deportation while a dozen or more Meditaerranean countries refuse to accept him. Could life get worse? Well, yes, he could be a character in an Eric Ambler novel. A roller coaster ride - very funny, a book you can't read without a smile on your face.
July 12, 2018
Arthur Simpson rides again.
April 7, 2021
Intricate and well done.....very much of its time (mid-late 60s) but still more than just an entertainment.
September 19, 2022
Graham Greene meets George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman meets Hitchcock - a (fairly) loveable rogue on the run in Africa, the only thing dry in the jungle is Ambler’s humour
December 8, 2023
Great Story!
July 24, 2018
In what is perhaps the only true sequel of Ambler's career, Dirty Story continues the adventures of the hero of The Light of Day, Arthur Simpson. Despite his prior involvement in the porn industry (and the fact that he gets caught up in it again) the story isn't entirely what one may think--the really dirty deeds the corporate dealings in which he gets mixed up, which have rival corporations sending rival mercenary armies to back up their favored sides in a conflict between two newly independent African states. I like to think of it as a parody of Forsyth's The Dogs of War years before Forsyth ever got around to writing Dogs of War--with his pathetic picaresque hero caught in the middle.
As it happened I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second, the adventure that led Simpson to Africa more than his attempting to survive there (it's richer in the petty scheming and misunderstandings and twists that make this sort of Ambler novel fun), but on the whole it is a solid sequel to Light of Day.
As it happened I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second, the adventure that led Simpson to Africa more than his attempting to survive there (it's richer in the petty scheming and misunderstandings and twists that make this sort of Ambler novel fun), but on the whole it is a solid sequel to Light of Day.
March 30, 2020
Arthur Abdel Simpson is middle-aged, stateless and desperately in need of a new passport. Neither the Egyptians nor the British want him. As Her Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul in Athens informs him, "You're a disgusting creature, Mr Simpson. Your life is nothing but a long, dirty story."
And so he is. After a long history of making a living out the seamier side he euphemistically refers to himself as a soldier of fortune. This includes taking a job facilitating an illegal porno movie shoot to earn some drachmas. When the whistle's blown he finds himself on the run again.
Simpson enjoys a good drink and a chat, is wont to exaggerate and find of quoting one of the many coarse axioms his late father bequeathed him, such as "Why hurt your fists on a man's jaw when it's easier to knee him in the balls?"
A combination of desperation and lies leads to a shady assignment in the fictional North African country of Mahindi, a 'one-party democracy' in a border dispute with it's western neighbor over a highly valuable piece of land.
Dirty Story is what you would damn with faint praise by calling a "solid" thriller by an old hand at the genre. The writing is economical, no detail produces a false note, but there is no deeper ambition at work, none of the philosophical or theosophical considerations someone like Graham Greene would have added.
A routine page-turner.
And so he is. After a long history of making a living out the seamier side he euphemistically refers to himself as a soldier of fortune. This includes taking a job facilitating an illegal porno movie shoot to earn some drachmas. When the whistle's blown he finds himself on the run again.
Simpson enjoys a good drink and a chat, is wont to exaggerate and find of quoting one of the many coarse axioms his late father bequeathed him, such as "Why hurt your fists on a man's jaw when it's easier to knee him in the balls?"
A combination of desperation and lies leads to a shady assignment in the fictional North African country of Mahindi, a 'one-party democracy' in a border dispute with it's western neighbor over a highly valuable piece of land.
Dirty Story is what you would damn with faint praise by calling a "solid" thriller by an old hand at the genre. The writing is economical, no detail produces a false note, but there is no deeper ambition at work, none of the philosophical or theosophical considerations someone like Graham Greene would have added.
A routine page-turner.
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April 15, 2016I feel this book is really is 2 parts. Part 1, a very slow build up, setting the scene for Arthur getting into the story. Passport Trouble.
He does not so much as convince them of his soldiering experience, he just never corrects a series of misunderstandings and assumptions.
Part 2 the story. With a punchline and a set up for the next book.
I think the book could really have been a short story or novella - Part 2- he ends up as a mercenary, a colonial officer training local soldiers, then an incursion.
There is a good part that illustrates the fact that they are professional soldiers for hire, when they meet the opposing force and one of them is an old friend/colleague - he's not disarmed, he offers some information to minimise casualties and they discuss if the incursion might well be reversed in the evening.
It's a profession, the europeans intend to get paid and live for the next assignment.
The natives are not treated in quite the same civilised way.
He does not so much as convince them of his soldiering experience, he just never corrects a series of misunderstandings and assumptions.
Part 2 the story. With a punchline and a set up for the next book.
I think the book could really have been a short story or novella - Part 2- he ends up as a mercenary, a colonial officer training local soldiers, then an incursion.
There is a good part that illustrates the fact that they are professional soldiers for hire, when they meet the opposing force and one of them is an old friend/colleague - he's not disarmed, he offers some information to minimise casualties and they discuss if the incursion might well be reversed in the evening.
It's a profession, the europeans intend to get paid and live for the next assignment.
The natives are not treated in quite the same civilised way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2008
Eric Ambler wrote classic spy fiction, long before John LeCarre, and his books, although they deal with an era now long gone by, still excel in atmosphere and texture. Ambler's world is centered mainly around central Europe, and is a gritty place which smells of cigarettes and stale coffee most of the time. "Dirty Story" is a departure from his usual writing, and is one of only two novels featuring a wonderful main character, Arthur Abel Simpson. Peter Ustinov played Simpson in the movie version of the second novel, Topkapi, which is better known. But Dirty Story is Simpson at his best, working as a mercenary in central Africa. It's colorful, funny, highly observant, and a damned good read.
March 18, 2014
Dirty Story didn't grab me like The Light of Day, the previous novel featuring Arthur Simpson as narrator/protagonist, which I consider my favorite Ambler novel written after his between-the-wars golden period. All of the elements of the quintessential Ambler thriller are there, but Dirty Story is a slow starter that doesn't maintain tension in the manner of the author's best work.
October 16, 2016
Like Light of Day, a wry thriller concerned with the fate of small-time chiselers consigned to statelessness. Not as pointed as the other book, but still fun. Ambler's later works deserve more attention.
November 13, 2009
The real world ambivalence elevated this above other thrillers, but overall its world was too real and dragged more than I liked.
July 20, 2012
Read this as a companion to Evelyn Waugh's "Scoop"
December 16, 2014
A really good one. Best for adults.
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