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Arthur Simpson #1
Topkapi
The Light of Day was the basis for Jules Dassin’s classic film, Topkapi.
When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with city and in need of a private driver. In other words, the perfect mark for Simpson’s brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson riffling his wallet for traveler’s checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. Then, when he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey’s notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something both less sinister and much, much more audacious.
When Arthur Abdel Simpson first spots Harper in the Athens airport, he recognizes him as a tourist unfamiliar with city and in need of a private driver. In other words, the perfect mark for Simpson’s brand of entrepreneurship. But Harper proves to be more the spider than the fly when he catches Simpson riffling his wallet for traveler’s checks. Soon Simpson finds himself blackmailed into driving a suspicious car across the Turkish border. Then, when he is caught again, this time by the police, he faces a choice: cooperate with the Turks and spy on his erstwhile colleagues or end up in one of Turkey’s notorious prisons. The authorities suspect an attempted coup, but Harper and his gang of international jewel thieves have planned something both less sinister and much, much more audacious.
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First published January 1, 1962
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About the author
Eric Ambler
111 books489 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 303 reviews
May 17, 2022
If you follow my reviews then you know that I am a fan of Eric Ambler and it pains me to say that this book falls flat for me. It follows the usual Ambler plot of an "every man" who is thrust into the path of danger, which usually produces a fascinating story, but here things go off the rail for me.
First of all, our "every man" is a 50-ish year old petty criminal living in Athens who tries to con a person to use his services as a driver and guide, and then tries to rob him by entering his hotel suite to steal travelers checks. He is nabbed in the act and all of a sudden Alfred Simpson (of Egyptian/British lineage) is forced to assist a group of thieves who are heading to Istanbul. What they want is for him to drive a car to Turkey. Things get complicated and for a petty criminal Alfred is clueless. What he interprets as a possible heroin or blackmail scam turns out to be a theft from a royal museum.
And here is the second thing, neither Simpson nor we the reader have any idea that a heist is being planned until about 85% into the book. We meet a lot of unsavory characters, and follow the bumbling Simpson until the very end when nothing went as planned.
This book is the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Topkapi, and maybe had I not seen the movie years ago and remembered the plot I would have had more pleasure reading the book. It is not a bad book, and all the action is rather fast paced, but it just fell flat for me. This book came in at 3.5*** and I am rounding it down to 3***. For me this is far from Amblers best work.
For my full review please feel free to follow me at: www.viewsonbooks.com
First of all, our "every man" is a 50-ish year old petty criminal living in Athens who tries to con a person to use his services as a driver and guide, and then tries to rob him by entering his hotel suite to steal travelers checks. He is nabbed in the act and all of a sudden Alfred Simpson (of Egyptian/British lineage) is forced to assist a group of thieves who are heading to Istanbul. What they want is for him to drive a car to Turkey. Things get complicated and for a petty criminal Alfred is clueless. What he interprets as a possible heroin or blackmail scam turns out to be a theft from a royal museum.
And here is the second thing, neither Simpson nor we the reader have any idea that a heist is being planned until about 85% into the book. We meet a lot of unsavory characters, and follow the bumbling Simpson until the very end when nothing went as planned.
This book is the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Topkapi, and maybe had I not seen the movie years ago and remembered the plot I would have had more pleasure reading the book. It is not a bad book, and all the action is rather fast paced, but it just fell flat for me. This book came in at 3.5*** and I am rounding it down to 3***. For me this is far from Amblers best work.
For my full review please feel free to follow me at: www.viewsonbooks.com
November 24, 2016
I have read 7 or 8 of Eric Ambler’s novels, and they all follow the same basic formula: a rather naïve amateur protagonist inadvertently gets mixed up with a gang of professional crooks or foreign agents, and somehow – with the odds stacked against him – has to extricate himself.
Arthur, a middle-aged, overweight former British public schoolboy, down at heel and rather lacking high morals has ended up working as a jobbing taxi driver in Greece.
He tries to swindle an apparently wealthy customer and gets more than he bargains for – he is caught red-handed and is forced to help a gang dealing in some sort of cross-border crime, his first task being to deliver a limousine from Greece into Turkey.
Incompetent as ever, Arthur is caught by the Turkish authorities (due to his expired passport) and is made to play double agent. The Turks suspect a terrorist plot – Arthur’s job is to carry on as normal, find out and report back.
But – as you might guess, Arthur is not good at this – and in due course is enlisted into the gang following an injury to one of its members; Arthur is to replace him on the night of the illicit deed.
In constant fear of being unmasked, and of not delivering for his handlers, Arthur bumbles brilliantly. To follow his progress is excruciating, but eminently plausible.
I thought, another very good read from Mr Ambler.
Arthur, a middle-aged, overweight former British public schoolboy, down at heel and rather lacking high morals has ended up working as a jobbing taxi driver in Greece.
He tries to swindle an apparently wealthy customer and gets more than he bargains for – he is caught red-handed and is forced to help a gang dealing in some sort of cross-border crime, his first task being to deliver a limousine from Greece into Turkey.
Incompetent as ever, Arthur is caught by the Turkish authorities (due to his expired passport) and is made to play double agent. The Turks suspect a terrorist plot – Arthur’s job is to carry on as normal, find out and report back.
But – as you might guess, Arthur is not good at this – and in due course is enlisted into the gang following an injury to one of its members; Arthur is to replace him on the night of the illicit deed.
In constant fear of being unmasked, and of not delivering for his handlers, Arthur bumbles brilliantly. To follow his progress is excruciating, but eminently plausible.
I thought, another very good read from Mr Ambler.
December 22, 2024
Fun and clever book, this. Arthur Simpson is simply one of the most endearing anti-heroic rogues in mid century thrillers. His sardonic and ironic sense of humor makes the read a page turner. And the idea of putting an Englishman with a bit of a proper background in Athens, holding an Egyptian passport, and finding himself involved in a plot to engage in a high profile crime in Istanbul, all couldn't help but produce a combination of exotic intrigue and high comedic possibilities.
The Light of Day is also published as Topkapi in order to take advantage of the 1964 movie based on the book, with Melina Mecouri, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Peter Ustinov as Arthur. The film lacks the flashbacks and witty humor of the book. Ustinov's Arthur is too much of a bumbler and without the instinctual cleverness to survive Ambler's original Arthur displays. Yet both film and book are of a similar era, the early 1960s. And time with the film is not a waste either.
This is my second Ambler novel, and I see there is at least one more Arthur Simpson novel out there. Well worth chasing down, I think.
The Light of Day is also published as Topkapi in order to take advantage of the 1964 movie based on the book, with Melina Mecouri, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, and Peter Ustinov as Arthur. The film lacks the flashbacks and witty humor of the book. Ustinov's Arthur is too much of a bumbler and without the instinctual cleverness to survive Ambler's original Arthur displays. Yet both film and book are of a similar era, the early 1960s. And time with the film is not a waste either.
This is my second Ambler novel, and I see there is at least one more Arthur Simpson novel out there. Well worth chasing down, I think.
January 29, 2023
A thoroughly amusing heist/espionage tale featuring Arthur Simpson, a seemingly naïve scoundrel, petty swindler and coward who is a perennial nuisance to all those he comes into contact with. Ambler pulls off a superb balancing act between farce and suspenseful crime thriller, no easy feat.
June 20, 2020
If you insist on making your protagonist as spectacularly drab and unsexy as Arthur Abdel Simpson, the least you could do is also make him lovable (the way le Carré did with the plump pasty dough-ball George Smiley). Simpson is an unpleasing mix of resentful and obsequious, with the personality of an incel (despite being married to a stripper). The only thing I liked about him was the revenge he exacted for the humiliations of being caned at prep school:
"I never forgot and never began to forgive a caning until I had somehow evened the score with the master who had given it to me. If he were married, I would write an anonymous letter to his wife saying that he was a sodomite and that he had been trying to interfere with young boys. If he were a bachelor, I would send it as a warning to one of the other boys' parents."
September 7, 2022
Disappointing compared to Ambler's best novels but still an okay read. The movie "Topkapi" is based on this book.
February 2, 2018
( questa parte potete anche saltarla) Storia in italiano è anche sinonimo di relazione. Ecco: io a volte ho delle storie con libri, alcune delle nascono proprio dal momento in cui il mio sguardo si posa sulla copertina. Il primo incontro è stato così: io che faccio una sosta nei sotterranei dell’impero del Male (la Feltrinelli Duomo) e mi imbatto nella nuova edizione Adelphi del romanzo, ben disposta in più esemplari nella colonna ‘Novità’. A quel punto ho capito che il romanzo mi sarebbe piaciuto. Perché c’erano Peter e Melina sulla prima. Io nutro profonda ammirazione sia per Peter Ustinov che per Melina Merkouri (nota: gli Elgin Marbles sono stati rubati, dovrebbero essere restituiti e io, sapendo che ciò non accadrà, mi sono sempre rifiutata e sempre mi rifiuterò di visitare il British Museum. Amen). Qualche mese dopo ho acquistato e letto.
A questo punto forse dovrei anticipare anche che, come altri, avevo visto più di una volta il film prima di leggere il romanzo - di solito lo evito, ma coi film di una certa età è quasi impossibile. C’è qualcuno che prima di aver visto Via col vento ha letto il romanzo? Vengo e lo abbraccio, nel caso. A dir la verità, le differenze tra la trasposizione cinematografica di Dassin e il romanzo sono marcate. Per cui, non dà fastidio nella lettura l’aver visto il film prima. Anzi, le ho trovate proprio due esperienze differenti, quindi compatibili. L’unica cosa che noterei è che non vedevo la necessità di cambiare il titolo al romanzo, facendolo vampirizzare dal film. Ragioni commerciali, certo, ma io faccio il tifo per The light of the day.
(questa parte potete anche leggerla)Arthur Simpson è uber alles. Non perché è il narratore delle vicende. Ma perché vince per distacco (parecchio) sull’originalità rispetto a tutti quanti gli altri personaggi. Arthur Abdel Simpson è uno che nella vita si arrangia come può e lo fa più o meno da quando ha iniziato a respirare. Di lui, una cosa è certa: è sempre ospite sgradito ed elemento fuori posto in qualunque punto del globo terraqueo lo si metta. Inglese ed egiziano e greco ma anche un po’ turco ma alla fine, apolide. Senza un lavoro vero che non sia dedicarsi a truffare il prossimo, meglio se un turista sprovveduto ad Atene. Solo che il signor Harper, che Simpson scambia per un turista da gabbare e che cerca di turlupinare per fregargli i travel cheques, in realtà è un criminale più intelligente di lui e lo coinvolge in un colpo molto grosso, apparentemente al di sopra delle capacità del nostro.
Arthur Simpson è un eroe incompreso. La polizia turca, che lo conosce da tempo, lo usa come informatore pensando sia finito in un giro di terroristi, non apprezzando il suo sforzo per sventare il colpo del secolo. I suoi complici, Fischer e Harper per primi, lo considerano un caprone e finiscono per restarne abbastanza beffati. Lui, come al solito, alla fine si ritroverà più o meno nella stessa condizione di outsider di prima, perché nessuno lo vuole tra i piedi.
Alla fin della fiera, il romanzo è davvero divertente, facendo del personaggio principale la sua forza e degli sgangherati comprimari un elemento divertente in più. La trama è un congegno che gira alla perfezione, per molte pagine non si capisce che cavolo stia succedendo al povero Simpson e come se ne salverà. Ambler è uno specialista della narrazione d’intrattenimento. Una lettura godibile e molto elegante, anche. Non è un giallone da spararsi in vena in un pomeriggio, siamo a livelli di cura e raffinatezza molto elevati, qui. Promosso alla grande.
A questo punto forse dovrei anticipare anche che, come altri, avevo visto più di una volta il film prima di leggere il romanzo - di solito lo evito, ma coi film di una certa età è quasi impossibile. C’è qualcuno che prima di aver visto Via col vento ha letto il romanzo? Vengo e lo abbraccio, nel caso. A dir la verità, le differenze tra la trasposizione cinematografica di Dassin e il romanzo sono marcate. Per cui, non dà fastidio nella lettura l’aver visto il film prima. Anzi, le ho trovate proprio due esperienze differenti, quindi compatibili. L’unica cosa che noterei è che non vedevo la necessità di cambiare il titolo al romanzo, facendolo vampirizzare dal film. Ragioni commerciali, certo, ma io faccio il tifo per The light of the day.
(questa parte potete anche leggerla)Arthur Simpson è uber alles. Non perché è il narratore delle vicende. Ma perché vince per distacco (parecchio) sull’originalità rispetto a tutti quanti gli altri personaggi. Arthur Abdel Simpson è uno che nella vita si arrangia come può e lo fa più o meno da quando ha iniziato a respirare. Di lui, una cosa è certa: è sempre ospite sgradito ed elemento fuori posto in qualunque punto del globo terraqueo lo si metta. Inglese ed egiziano e greco ma anche un po’ turco ma alla fine, apolide. Senza un lavoro vero che non sia dedicarsi a truffare il prossimo, meglio se un turista sprovveduto ad Atene. Solo che il signor Harper, che Simpson scambia per un turista da gabbare e che cerca di turlupinare per fregargli i travel cheques, in realtà è un criminale più intelligente di lui e lo coinvolge in un colpo molto grosso, apparentemente al di sopra delle capacità del nostro.
Arthur Simpson è un eroe incompreso. La polizia turca, che lo conosce da tempo, lo usa come informatore pensando sia finito in un giro di terroristi, non apprezzando il suo sforzo per sventare il colpo del secolo. I suoi complici, Fischer e Harper per primi, lo considerano un caprone e finiscono per restarne abbastanza beffati. Lui, come al solito, alla fine si ritroverà più o meno nella stessa condizione di outsider di prima, perché nessuno lo vuole tra i piedi.
Alla fin della fiera, il romanzo è davvero divertente, facendo del personaggio principale la sua forza e degli sgangherati comprimari un elemento divertente in più. La trama è un congegno che gira alla perfezione, per molte pagine non si capisce che cavolo stia succedendo al povero Simpson e come se ne salverà. Ambler è uno specialista della narrazione d’intrattenimento. Una lettura godibile e molto elegante, anche. Non è un giallone da spararsi in vena in un pomeriggio, siamo a livelli di cura e raffinatezza molto elevati, qui. Promosso alla grande.
June 18, 2018
Eric Ambler published his first book, The Dark Frontier, in 1936. That date falls outside of My Big Fat Reading Project (begins in 1940) and somehow I had never heard of him until I was already reading my list for 1959, when I read Passage of Arms. I have got some books to fill in but for now I am just reading the books he published since 1959. This one was published in 1962 but since it won the Edgar Award in 1964, I saved it until now.
The award may have been given in 1964 because the movie Topkapi, based on The Light of Day, was released in that year. Peter Ustinov won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in his role as Arthur Simpson, the main character in the book.
Arthur Simpson is English/Egyptian, living a life of crime in Greece. He has been scamming his way through life as a pimp, pornographer, and petty thief. At the beginning of the book he has fallen into deep trouble involving British spies plus criminals on a much higher scale than he, and to save his skin he agrees to become an agent for the British secret service.
It is a great adventure tale in which a basically cowardly man finds himself part of a major jewel heist. To maintain his cover he must perform dangerous feats in Istanbul's ancient Topkapi palace, all the while knowing that the British are completely following the wrong people.
I think I saw the movie once and found it ridiculous, but now that I have read the book and know what was really going on, I am going to watch it again. (Netflix has it on DVD.) Ambler was a forerunner of John le Carre, a contemporary of Graham Greene, but puts a spin on the spy genre that is all his own.
Ian Fleming of the James Bond books also fits into this genre. Reading all these different authors of Cold War spy fiction written in the early years of that era has given me a look into British intelligence during those times. One of these days I will figure out how the CIA fit into the picture then.
Does anyone know of novels about American spies during the Cold War that were written and published in the 1960s? Suggestions welcome.
The award may have been given in 1964 because the movie Topkapi, based on The Light of Day, was released in that year. Peter Ustinov won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in his role as Arthur Simpson, the main character in the book.
Arthur Simpson is English/Egyptian, living a life of crime in Greece. He has been scamming his way through life as a pimp, pornographer, and petty thief. At the beginning of the book he has fallen into deep trouble involving British spies plus criminals on a much higher scale than he, and to save his skin he agrees to become an agent for the British secret service.
It is a great adventure tale in which a basically cowardly man finds himself part of a major jewel heist. To maintain his cover he must perform dangerous feats in Istanbul's ancient Topkapi palace, all the while knowing that the British are completely following the wrong people.
I think I saw the movie once and found it ridiculous, but now that I have read the book and know what was really going on, I am going to watch it again. (Netflix has it on DVD.) Ambler was a forerunner of John le Carre, a contemporary of Graham Greene, but puts a spin on the spy genre that is all his own.
Ian Fleming of the James Bond books also fits into this genre. Reading all these different authors of Cold War spy fiction written in the early years of that era has given me a look into British intelligence during those times. One of these days I will figure out how the CIA fit into the picture then.
Does anyone know of novels about American spies during the Cold War that were written and published in the 1960s? Suggestions welcome.
September 10, 2023
Arthur Simpson is the protagonist in this wonderful thriller that was turned into the film Topkapi.
The book is so well written that even though I really don't like Simpson's character and weakness of spirit, I still want to find out how what happens in the end.
Simpson is a small-time thief who is caught stealing and gets in over his head with some jewel thieves. He's 'recruited' by the Turkish police and becomes involved in a robbery.
Ambler was the one who lit the way for Len Deighton, Graham Greene, and Frederick Forsyth. The story and scenes feel contemporary even though the book was written in the early 1960s, a testament to Ambler's greatness.
The book is so well written that even though I really don't like Simpson's character and weakness of spirit, I still want to find out how what happens in the end.
Simpson is a small-time thief who is caught stealing and gets in over his head with some jewel thieves. He's 'recruited' by the Turkish police and becomes involved in a robbery.
Ambler was the one who lit the way for Len Deighton, Graham Greene, and Frederick Forsyth. The story and scenes feel contemporary even though the book was written in the early 1960s, a testament to Ambler's greatness.
February 16, 2011
Inspiration for the 1964 film TOPKAPI. Not as entertaining as the movie, but mercifully free of Melina Mercouri's hideous laughter.
May 4, 2024
Eric Ambler is one of those "golden age" names you often hear in the same sentence as others like Deighton, Hall, Higgins, Innes, MacInnes, MacLean, etc. - except that while I knew the name, I knew absolutely none of his books. However, after reading the wonderful Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: The Boom in British Thrillers from Casino Royale to The Eagle Has Landed back in 2018, I started looking for him in the cavernous racks of McKays Used Books, and so found and read the enjoyable Passage of Arms a few years back...but then lost track of him until recently finding both this book and A Quiet Conspiracy,* (which I brought home for a grand total of $1.05).
So…fun story, and unique in that you don't actually learn what the "plot within the plot" is - is it a spy story, a heist, a political thriller? - until the last 40 pages.** And it also offers a nice change of scenery from the CIA-, KGB- and MI6-heavy plots that tend to dominate the genre, in that it focuses exclusively on the Turkish intelligence and police services. Anyway, will continue to watch for other Amblers if and as they land on the shelves, and of course still have Conspiracy to get to - but no rush; these books are generally light fillers best saved for when one needs a break between weightier readings.
* For some reason, these are both old British editions of the books - no idea how they ended up in Manassas. But they were easily recognizable as such, since traditional British book design - much like traditional British cuisine, (and with apologies to my English friends) - is known more for its stodgy functionality than cutting-edge creativity.
** Unless, of course, you've ever seen or even heard of the 1964 movie , which is based on this book but basically gives away the WHOLE IDEA in not only the film's trailer, synopses, etc., but also the title itself…so, basically everything.
So…fun story, and unique in that you don't actually learn what the "plot within the plot" is - is it a spy story, a heist, a political thriller? - until the last 40 pages.** And it also offers a nice change of scenery from the CIA-, KGB- and MI6-heavy plots that tend to dominate the genre, in that it focuses exclusively on the Turkish intelligence and police services. Anyway, will continue to watch for other Amblers if and as they land on the shelves, and of course still have Conspiracy to get to - but no rush; these books are generally light fillers best saved for when one needs a break between weightier readings.
* For some reason, these are both old British editions of the books - no idea how they ended up in Manassas. But they were easily recognizable as such, since traditional British book design - much like traditional British cuisine, (and with apologies to my English friends) - is known more for its stodgy functionality than cutting-edge creativity.
** Unless, of course, you've ever seen or even heard of the 1964 movie , which is based on this book but basically gives away the WHOLE IDEA in not only the film's trailer, synopses, etc., but also the title itself…so, basically everything.
February 17, 2025
La luz del día
Siguiendo con el peculiar estilo de Eric Ambler he probado suerte con esta novela de espías.
La historia nos presenta a Arthur Simpson, hijo de padre inglés, pero, ojo, no inglés, aunque él dice que tiene todos los derechos a serlo, otra cosa es lo que dicen los ingleses. También dice que es periodista de profesión, pero lo cierto es que trabaja como guía en Grecia.
Arthur está a punto de cometer un error, gran error. Meter la mano donde no debe y con el peor enemigo.
A partir de ahora empieza el calvario de Arthur, pasa de ladrón a víctima y no es lo peor porque entran en juego la policía turca y un complot ... O lo que sea.
La novela es entretenida con cierto suspense, pero es más que nada una sátira con mucho humor gracias al personaje de Arthur y la situación que le toca vivir.
Siguiendo con el peculiar estilo de Eric Ambler he probado suerte con esta novela de espías.
La historia nos presenta a Arthur Simpson, hijo de padre inglés, pero, ojo, no inglés, aunque él dice que tiene todos los derechos a serlo, otra cosa es lo que dicen los ingleses. También dice que es periodista de profesión, pero lo cierto es que trabaja como guía en Grecia.
Arthur está a punto de cometer un error, gran error. Meter la mano donde no debe y con el peor enemigo.
A partir de ahora empieza el calvario de Arthur, pasa de ladrón a víctima y no es lo peor porque entran en juego la policía turca y un complot ... O lo que sea.
La novela es entretenida con cierto suspense, pero es más que nada una sátira con mucho humor gracias al personaje de Arthur y la situación que le toca vivir.
July 2, 2017
Enjoyed this a lot. Even though the protagonist was a petty crook, I was rooting for him the whole way.
June 23, 2015
Eric Ambler. That’s worth five stars by itself. The Light of Day (1962) is that rarest of enjoyments, a successful comedic thriller. Many writers can do thrillers good, bad, and forgotten, but very few can do a thriller with such an infectious sense of humor.
Arthur Abdul Simpson, Ambler’s roguish anti-hero narrator, seems always in over his head, dealing with Turkish authorities (no valid passport) or with a mysterious group of … what? The authorities are focused on political revolt while Arthur is focused on regaining an unwise letter he had signed held by Harper, the leader of the group. It is only near the end that Ambler reveals just who these mysterious people really are.
The novel was the basis for the 1964 comedic thriller, Topkapi, with Peter Ustinov as Simpson. In reading the novel, if you have seen the movie, then Ustinov as the clear image of Simpson is inescapable, as with Maximilian Schell as Harper, and, of course, Melina Mercouri, as anyone she likes.
The ending of the novel differs from the movie, but whatever, it will be one of your most enjoyable reads of the summer.
Fortunately, Arthur Abdul Simpson returns in Dirty Story (1967), with the apparently barely competent Simpson becoming a mercenary!
Arthur Abdul Simpson, Ambler’s roguish anti-hero narrator, seems always in over his head, dealing with Turkish authorities (no valid passport) or with a mysterious group of … what? The authorities are focused on political revolt while Arthur is focused on regaining an unwise letter he had signed held by Harper, the leader of the group. It is only near the end that Ambler reveals just who these mysterious people really are.
The novel was the basis for the 1964 comedic thriller, Topkapi, with Peter Ustinov as Simpson. In reading the novel, if you have seen the movie, then Ustinov as the clear image of Simpson is inescapable, as with Maximilian Schell as Harper, and, of course, Melina Mercouri, as anyone she likes.
The ending of the novel differs from the movie, but whatever, it will be one of your most enjoyable reads of the summer.
Fortunately, Arthur Abdul Simpson returns in Dirty Story (1967), with the apparently barely competent Simpson becoming a mercenary!
March 19, 2019
This is what Graham Greene would call an 'entertainment' - which is an apt description. This was the basis for the 1964 film "Topkapi" which starred the great Peter Ustinov - and it was hard to read this narrative without a picture of Ustinov coming into my mind as the bumbling Arthur Simpson. This is a very odd book - we, the readers, do not know what the crooks are up to for three fourths of the book, we're as in the dark as poor Arthur. There is suspense and great dialogue. This is great good fun.
May 29, 2025
Very entertaining mystery-novel written in 1962 and set mainly in Greece and Turkey. A smalltime thief and con-man gets involved in something quite too big for him to grasp. This main character Arthur Simpson has been worked out very likably. The rest remain flat characters, but they add a lot to the story and to the fun of reading. The ending is somewhat bizarre, but that’s something I can appreciate in novels.
April 29, 2024
Started off very good with a gripping storyline but felt the ending was rushed and crammed into 10-20 pages.
Overall, a decent book but could be better
Overall, a decent book but could be better
August 15, 2020
I am delighted to find that, as late as 1962, Eric Ambler had the stuff to create a novel like The Light of Day with its dark humor. It begins with a real anti-hero, Arthur Hamed Simpson, an Anglo-Egyptian with an expired passport who lives in Athens by, among other things, petty theft and guiding tours.
Is this a spy novel? It certainly looks like it when the mysterious Mr Harper nabs Arthur in the act of stealing $300 worth of American Express travelers cheques and talks him into driving a Lincoln Continental to Istanbul. The fun begins when Arthur tries to cross the Greek/Turkish border.
Most of the action takes place in Istanbul as Arthur tries to learn whether Harper and his associates are terrorists or thieves or whatever. I will not reveal the ending, only to say that the book was filmed by Jules Dassin as Topkapi.
Is this a spy novel? It certainly looks like it when the mysterious Mr Harper nabs Arthur in the act of stealing $300 worth of American Express travelers cheques and talks him into driving a Lincoln Continental to Istanbul. The fun begins when Arthur tries to cross the Greek/Turkish border.
Most of the action takes place in Istanbul as Arthur tries to learn whether Harper and his associates are terrorists or thieves or whatever. I will not reveal the ending, only to say that the book was filmed by Jules Dassin as Topkapi.
June 6, 2023
Eric Ambler, Graham Greene ve Maugham ile birlikte casus romanlarının öncüsü sayılıyor. Diamond Dagger, Edgar gibi büyük pek çok ödül alsa da ülkemizde pek de okunan bir yazar değil gibi görünüyor. Türkiye’yi romanlarına mekan olarak seçmesi bile pek etkili olmamış sanırım. İstanbul’da geçen bu kitap da Edgar Ödüllü. Bir hırsızlığı anlatan romanda kahramanımız istemeden de olsa casus olmak zorunda kalıyor. Çok komik tasarlanmış bir karakter. Keyfine göre İngiliz ya da Mısır asıllı olduğunu öne süren, ava giderken avlanan karakterimizi Türk polisi hırsızlığı engellemek için kullanıyor. Ambler’ın en sevdiğim yanı oryantalist etkiden uzak yazması oldu. Hırsızlığın yapılacağı Topkapı Sarayı bu gibi etkilere çok açık. Ama Ambler polisi, İstanbul’un tarihi yerlerini turistik bir gözle bile olsa oryantalizmden uzak anlatmayı başarmış. Ortaya da karakteri çok komik ama olay örgüsü çok başarılı bir roman çıkmış. Romanı Jules Dassin 1964’te Topkapi adıyla filme almış.
August 1, 2023
Arthur Simpson is a man in his 50's plump and a petty thief. As a boy in England going to a private school be learnt to be very revengeful. Here in Athens where he lives, he is caught stealing from the man who has employed him as a driver. The man, now knowing that he has a hold over Simpson, offers him a job, to drive a car to Turkey, saying that he would pay him for the job. Of course Simpson agrees, almost certain that the car must be carrying drugs. on possession of the car he checks for drugs but that is not what he finds it is carrying, and soon he finds he has been roped in to a much different crime.
I think I had expected a character more like Chandler's Marlow, which he is not. Simpson is a somewhat bumbling character, but manages to pull himself through most situations. I think the fast pace of the book, enabled me to get willing to put up with his bumbling, and enjoy the ride.
I think I had expected a character more like Chandler's Marlow, which he is not. Simpson is a somewhat bumbling character, but manages to pull himself through most situations. I think the fast pace of the book, enabled me to get willing to put up with his bumbling, and enjoy the ride.
July 25, 2023
The Light of Day became an Oscar winning film for Sir Peter Ustinov. As with most films the plot doesn't always match the novel, however I would say that Ustinov embodied the narrator of the novel Arthur Simpson, a small time crook who inadvertently becomes involved in a dangerous plan. Eric Ambler's novels don't usually feature professional spies, they tend to be like Arthur, unlucky in their life choices, Ambler worked as a screenwriter, was good friends with HItchcock and his novels were ofter turned into movies, due to their cinematic qualities. A classic, entertaining thriller.
April 28, 2023
This book suffered sorely from the lack of Melina Mercouri. I think I'll watch the movie.
September 21, 2025
don’t know if it’s a modern classic
Not that great actually
Not that great actually
February 29, 2020
This was a fun read and a bit of a surprise, too. I’ve had this on my shelf for years. It was among those books my mother inherited from my Aunt Mary. She belonged to a Book of the Month Club, so her collection was wide and varied. I was going through them after we returned from our trip last month and noticed the map inside indicated a trip to Istanbul, so I bumped it up to the top of my To Read pile and was immediately taken with the fun approach and tension of the story. It got me from the first sentence, “It came down to this: if I had not been arrested by the Turkish police, I would have been arrested by the Greek police.” Isn’t that a great opening line? It really sucks you in.
I also learned it was the source for the movie Topkapi (1964).
The book is completely different, but they’re both good in their own ways. The book is told from the point of view of a guy who is a bit of a foolish looser type. He gets caught up in a heist and somehow scrapes through, though not without a lot of trouble along the way.
The movie still has the same characters, but it’s told more in the style of a heist team (think Mission Impossible or Oceans 11) and therefore has a completely different feel to it. In fact, I read that the Mission Impossible TV series was inspired by this movie.
I really enjoyed both the book and the movie. They were both a fun adventure, though they are very different.
I also learned it was the source for the movie Topkapi (1964).
The book is completely different, but they’re both good in their own ways. The book is told from the point of view of a guy who is a bit of a foolish looser type. He gets caught up in a heist and somehow scrapes through, though not without a lot of trouble along the way.
The movie still has the same characters, but it’s told more in the style of a heist team (think Mission Impossible or Oceans 11) and therefore has a completely different feel to it. In fact, I read that the Mission Impossible TV series was inspired by this movie.
I really enjoyed both the book and the movie. They were both a fun adventure, though they are very different.
September 17, 2025
Nothing not to like here. The character of Arthur is vivid and the plot is entertaining. Turkish setting is interesting. Funny thing: as I was reading I thought of Peter Ustinov as the perfect actor to play Arthur. Looked up the film version ("Topkapi") and there he was -- I've seen the movie 50 years (?) ago but didn't remember that Ustinov was in fact the choice. Or maybe subconsciously I did.
I've read at least a couple of the "classic" Amblers from before WW II. Enjoyed them, thought I'd enjoy this. Yes!
No need to summarize plot -- the intro to the book in Goodreads does that.
I've read at least a couple of the "classic" Amblers from before WW II. Enjoyed them, thought I'd enjoy this. Yes!
No need to summarize plot -- the intro to the book in Goodreads does that.
January 28, 2025
Entertaining blast from the past! Offbeat caper thriller made more interesting by the bumbling antics of the unreliable narrator.
May 9, 2022
review of
Eric Ambler's The Light of Day
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 24; May 9, 2022
I've started a small project of going thru my personal library of mysteries / crime fiction in alphabetical order by author & picking works to read by authors I haven't read anything by yet.
Eric Ambler is one of those writers whose work I always avoided b/c I was too much under the impression that it wd be formulaic writing of the sort that seems to have mass appeal. Then he was recommended to me by the owner of my favorite Pittsburgh used bkstore so I decided to give him a try. I'm glad I did but somehow he still doesn't sit well w/ me. I was most reminded of the writing of William P. McGivern's A Choice of Assasins ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ). Both bks were published by Bantam, there's a similar style of cover art. Both feature a somewhat down-&-out main character who's not necessarily that loveable or sympathetic who gets caught up in a crime bigger than his capacity to deal w/ it but somehow manages to squeak by anyway.
It's interesting, none of the characters in The Light of Day are that despicable or heinous.. &, yet.. The main character, Arthur Simpson, doesn't have much to recommend him. I wdn't want to know his correlative in real life. He's too flawed, too self-deceiving, too habitually dishonest, too w/o any endearing characteristics. Definitely not someone to be trusted. Reading this bk &, hence, being 'inside his head' for so long is somewhat unpleasant. I wonder if I ultimately prefer characters that I can actually like, ridiculous as that may from a literary standpoint. Simpson's 1st person monolog establishes his self-deluding, self-justifying dishonesty.
"The car-hire business is only a temporary sideline with me, of course—I am a journalist by profession—but Nicki has been complaining about needing more new clothes, and the rent was due on the flat that week. I needed money, and this man looked as if he had some. Is it a crime to earn money? The way some people go on you would think it was. The law is the law and I am certainly not complaining, but what I can't stand is all the humbug and hypocrisy. If a man goes to the red-light district on his own, nobody says anything. But if he wants to do another chap, a friend or an acquaintance, a good turn by showing him the way to the best house, everyone starts screaming blue murder." - pp 1-2
Well.. journalist? Maybe more a pornographer. &, uh, he gets a percentage when he directs someone (arguably an acquaintance) to a brothel. &, no, it's not a crime to earn money but it is a crime to 'earn' money illegally.
"People who leave traveler's checks about deserve to lose them.
"I took just six checks, the bottom ones from the folder. That made three hundred dollars, and left him fifteen hundred or so. It is a mistake, I always think, to be greedy; but unfortunately I hesitated. For a moment I wondered if he would miss them all that much sooner if I took two more.
"So I was standing there like a fool, with the checks right in my hands, when Harper walked into the room." - p 16
SO, he gets busted stealing by his intended victim who turns out to be a much bigger crook than he is. This results in his being blackmailed into doing something he wdn't have otherwise.
Simpson has a British school background where his character was built.
"One of the most valuable things I learned at Coram's was how to hate; and it was the cane that taught me. I never forgot and never began to forgive a caning until I had somehow evened the score with the master who had given it to me. If he were married, I would write an anonymous letter to his wife saying that he was a sodomite and that he had been trying to interfere with young boys. If he were a bachelor, I would send it as a warning to one of the other boys' parents." - p 25
Harper blackmails Simpson into driving a car from Greece to Turkey. No mention of anything illegal involved but given that he's blackmailing it seems inevitable that it is. Simpson tries searching the car & finds nothing. Then an idea occurs to him.
"And then I remembered something. Harper had spoken of the possibility of a return journey, of my being wanted to drive the car back from Istanbul to Athens. Supposing that was the real point of the whole thing. I drive from Greece into Turkey. Everything is perfectly open and aboveboard. Both Greek and Turkish customs would see and remember car and chauffeur. Some days later, the same car and chauffeur return. "How was Istanbul, friend? Is your stomach still with you? Anything to declare? No fat-tailed sheep hidden in the back? Pass, friend, pass." And then the car goes back to the garage in the Piraeus, for the man in the blue suit to recover the packages of heroin concealed along the inner recesses of the chassis members, under the wheel arches of the body, and inside the cowling beside the automatic transmission. Unless, that is, there is a Macedonian son of a bitch on the Greek side who's out to win himself a medal. In that event, what you get is the strange case of the respectable Swiss lady's disreputable chauffeur who gets caught smuggling heroin; and Yours Truly is up the creek." - p 30
Nonetheless, Simpson delivers the car anyway b/c he's caught between a rock of blackmail & a hard place of being caught at another crime he doesn't even know the nature of. & b/c he's stupid enuf to be travelling w/ an expired passport, he gets caught at the Turkish border.
""Inside the doors there are"—he referred to the paper in his hand—"twelve tear-gas grenades, twelve concussion grenades, twelve smoke grenades, six gas respirators, six Parabellum pistols, and one hundred and twenty rounds of nine-millimeter pistol ammunition." He put the paper down and stood up. "You are under arrest."" - p 35
Simpson then gets interrogated by Counter-Intelligence.
"I think that if I were asked to single out one specific group of men, one type, one category, as being the most suspicious, unbelieving, unreasonable, petty, inhuman, sadistic, double-crossing set of bastards in any language, I would say without hesitation: "the people who run counter-espionage departments."" - p 41
During this interrogation, Simpson's history is revealed to be quite a bit more spotted w/ the unsavory than his self-narration has so far presented.
""And then you returned to Egypt?"
""As soon as my probationery period was up, yes. I went back to Cairo, sir."
""Where you proceeded to denounce a British businessman named Colby Evans to the Egyptian authorities as a British secret agent."" - p 49
The interrogator now blackmails Simpson into spying on the people that'd blackmailed Simpson into working for them. It's suspected that they may be planning an assassination.
""That's another thing I don't understand, sir. I know that there are all those grenades, too—but pistols? Is that enough for a coup d'état. If they were machine guns now . . ."
""My dear Simpson, the head of a secret political organization in Belgrade once handed out four pistols to four rather stupid students. In the event, only one was used, but it was used to assassinate the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and it started a European war. Pistols can be carried in the pocket. Machine guns cannot."" - p 80
Simpson stays at the villa where the apparent conspirators are HQed. The cook who's also there is suspicious of them.
"He shrugged. "Spies, Russia spies. Everyone knows—Hamul and his wife, the fishermen down below, everyone. You want something to eat?"" - p 102
Simpson is somewhat of an oversensitive wreck.
"yelling at me to stop, that in my haste to reach the drive I almost hit the basin of the fountain. As I went on down the drive I broke into a sweat and my legs felt weak and peculiar. I wanted to stop and be sick. That may sound very stupid; but when you are like I am, the bad things that nearly happen are just as hard, in a way, as the bad things that actually do happen. They are certainly no easier to forget. I always envied those characters in Alice who only felt pain before they were hurt. I seem to feel things before, during, and after as well; nothing ever goes completely away." - p 108
The cook, having taken a dislike to the 'spies' in general, & one in particular, feeds them bad food while cooking good food for his fellow employees.
"He had cooked a spaghetti Bolognese for the kitchen. The spies were having canned soup and a shish kebab made with mutton which, he proudly assured me, was as tough as new leather. The spaghetti was really good." - p 117
I've revealed very little of the actual plot. The main character is someone who tries to get it over on everyone & rarely succeeds, getting himself entrapped more & more in the process. He manages to extricate himself more by virtue of his habitual fucked-up behavior being too slippery to be absolutely pinned-down. I reckon this is a psychological comedy of misadventures. There're highly competent people on the criminal end & on the law-enforcement end & Simpson manages to be a wild card, not b/c of any diabolical genius, but just b/c he's such a fuck-up. This isn't really a novel of masterminds pulling off brilliant coups, there're no James Bonds here, it's a more realistic novel of general dysfunctionality, of human error writ large. I found it almost 'painful' to read. Still, it was well-done. Was Ambler as popular as I was under the impression he was?! If so, humanity has more of an interest in subtleties of human behavior than I'm ordinarily inclined to think it does.
Eric Ambler's The Light of Day
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 24; May 9, 2022
I've started a small project of going thru my personal library of mysteries / crime fiction in alphabetical order by author & picking works to read by authors I haven't read anything by yet.
Eric Ambler is one of those writers whose work I always avoided b/c I was too much under the impression that it wd be formulaic writing of the sort that seems to have mass appeal. Then he was recommended to me by the owner of my favorite Pittsburgh used bkstore so I decided to give him a try. I'm glad I did but somehow he still doesn't sit well w/ me. I was most reminded of the writing of William P. McGivern's A Choice of Assasins ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ). Both bks were published by Bantam, there's a similar style of cover art. Both feature a somewhat down-&-out main character who's not necessarily that loveable or sympathetic who gets caught up in a crime bigger than his capacity to deal w/ it but somehow manages to squeak by anyway.
It's interesting, none of the characters in The Light of Day are that despicable or heinous.. &, yet.. The main character, Arthur Simpson, doesn't have much to recommend him. I wdn't want to know his correlative in real life. He's too flawed, too self-deceiving, too habitually dishonest, too w/o any endearing characteristics. Definitely not someone to be trusted. Reading this bk &, hence, being 'inside his head' for so long is somewhat unpleasant. I wonder if I ultimately prefer characters that I can actually like, ridiculous as that may from a literary standpoint. Simpson's 1st person monolog establishes his self-deluding, self-justifying dishonesty.
"The car-hire business is only a temporary sideline with me, of course—I am a journalist by profession—but Nicki has been complaining about needing more new clothes, and the rent was due on the flat that week. I needed money, and this man looked as if he had some. Is it a crime to earn money? The way some people go on you would think it was. The law is the law and I am certainly not complaining, but what I can't stand is all the humbug and hypocrisy. If a man goes to the red-light district on his own, nobody says anything. But if he wants to do another chap, a friend or an acquaintance, a good turn by showing him the way to the best house, everyone starts screaming blue murder." - pp 1-2
Well.. journalist? Maybe more a pornographer. &, uh, he gets a percentage when he directs someone (arguably an acquaintance) to a brothel. &, no, it's not a crime to earn money but it is a crime to 'earn' money illegally.
"People who leave traveler's checks about deserve to lose them.
"I took just six checks, the bottom ones from the folder. That made three hundred dollars, and left him fifteen hundred or so. It is a mistake, I always think, to be greedy; but unfortunately I hesitated. For a moment I wondered if he would miss them all that much sooner if I took two more.
"So I was standing there like a fool, with the checks right in my hands, when Harper walked into the room." - p 16
SO, he gets busted stealing by his intended victim who turns out to be a much bigger crook than he is. This results in his being blackmailed into doing something he wdn't have otherwise.
Simpson has a British school background where his character was built.
"One of the most valuable things I learned at Coram's was how to hate; and it was the cane that taught me. I never forgot and never began to forgive a caning until I had somehow evened the score with the master who had given it to me. If he were married, I would write an anonymous letter to his wife saying that he was a sodomite and that he had been trying to interfere with young boys. If he were a bachelor, I would send it as a warning to one of the other boys' parents." - p 25
Harper blackmails Simpson into driving a car from Greece to Turkey. No mention of anything illegal involved but given that he's blackmailing it seems inevitable that it is. Simpson tries searching the car & finds nothing. Then an idea occurs to him.
"And then I remembered something. Harper had spoken of the possibility of a return journey, of my being wanted to drive the car back from Istanbul to Athens. Supposing that was the real point of the whole thing. I drive from Greece into Turkey. Everything is perfectly open and aboveboard. Both Greek and Turkish customs would see and remember car and chauffeur. Some days later, the same car and chauffeur return. "How was Istanbul, friend? Is your stomach still with you? Anything to declare? No fat-tailed sheep hidden in the back? Pass, friend, pass." And then the car goes back to the garage in the Piraeus, for the man in the blue suit to recover the packages of heroin concealed along the inner recesses of the chassis members, under the wheel arches of the body, and inside the cowling beside the automatic transmission. Unless, that is, there is a Macedonian son of a bitch on the Greek side who's out to win himself a medal. In that event, what you get is the strange case of the respectable Swiss lady's disreputable chauffeur who gets caught smuggling heroin; and Yours Truly is up the creek." - p 30
Nonetheless, Simpson delivers the car anyway b/c he's caught between a rock of blackmail & a hard place of being caught at another crime he doesn't even know the nature of. & b/c he's stupid enuf to be travelling w/ an expired passport, he gets caught at the Turkish border.
""Inside the doors there are"—he referred to the paper in his hand—"twelve tear-gas grenades, twelve concussion grenades, twelve smoke grenades, six gas respirators, six Parabellum pistols, and one hundred and twenty rounds of nine-millimeter pistol ammunition." He put the paper down and stood up. "You are under arrest."" - p 35
Simpson then gets interrogated by Counter-Intelligence.
"I think that if I were asked to single out one specific group of men, one type, one category, as being the most suspicious, unbelieving, unreasonable, petty, inhuman, sadistic, double-crossing set of bastards in any language, I would say without hesitation: "the people who run counter-espionage departments."" - p 41
During this interrogation, Simpson's history is revealed to be quite a bit more spotted w/ the unsavory than his self-narration has so far presented.
""And then you returned to Egypt?"
""As soon as my probationery period was up, yes. I went back to Cairo, sir."
""Where you proceeded to denounce a British businessman named Colby Evans to the Egyptian authorities as a British secret agent."" - p 49
The interrogator now blackmails Simpson into spying on the people that'd blackmailed Simpson into working for them. It's suspected that they may be planning an assassination.
""That's another thing I don't understand, sir. I know that there are all those grenades, too—but pistols? Is that enough for a coup d'état. If they were machine guns now . . ."
""My dear Simpson, the head of a secret political organization in Belgrade once handed out four pistols to four rather stupid students. In the event, only one was used, but it was used to assassinate the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and it started a European war. Pistols can be carried in the pocket. Machine guns cannot."" - p 80
Simpson stays at the villa where the apparent conspirators are HQed. The cook who's also there is suspicious of them.
"He shrugged. "Spies, Russia spies. Everyone knows—Hamul and his wife, the fishermen down below, everyone. You want something to eat?"" - p 102
Simpson is somewhat of an oversensitive wreck.
"yelling at me to stop, that in my haste to reach the drive I almost hit the basin of the fountain. As I went on down the drive I broke into a sweat and my legs felt weak and peculiar. I wanted to stop and be sick. That may sound very stupid; but when you are like I am, the bad things that nearly happen are just as hard, in a way, as the bad things that actually do happen. They are certainly no easier to forget. I always envied those characters in Alice who only felt pain before they were hurt. I seem to feel things before, during, and after as well; nothing ever goes completely away." - p 108
The cook, having taken a dislike to the 'spies' in general, & one in particular, feeds them bad food while cooking good food for his fellow employees.
"He had cooked a spaghetti Bolognese for the kitchen. The spies were having canned soup and a shish kebab made with mutton which, he proudly assured me, was as tough as new leather. The spaghetti was really good." - p 117
I've revealed very little of the actual plot. The main character is someone who tries to get it over on everyone & rarely succeeds, getting himself entrapped more & more in the process. He manages to extricate himself more by virtue of his habitual fucked-up behavior being too slippery to be absolutely pinned-down. I reckon this is a psychological comedy of misadventures. There're highly competent people on the criminal end & on the law-enforcement end & Simpson manages to be a wild card, not b/c of any diabolical genius, but just b/c he's such a fuck-up. This isn't really a novel of masterminds pulling off brilliant coups, there're no James Bonds here, it's a more realistic novel of general dysfunctionality, of human error writ large. I found it almost 'painful' to read. Still, it was well-done. Was Ambler as popular as I was under the impression he was?! If so, humanity has more of an interest in subtleties of human behavior than I'm ordinarily inclined to think it does.
April 26, 2024
I found a new writer, yippee! When I finished the last Graham Green novel this one popped up on Hoopla as a recommendation. When I read about Eric Ambler I found out he was highly regarded by some of the top mystery, thriller, and espionage writers who followed. He became buddies with Alfred Hitchcock through screenplay writing several of Hitchcock movies, Hitchcock helped arrange Ambler’s wedding.
I was reminded a little bit of Elmore Leonard in that every character in this book is shady and shifty, the protagonist is a two bit hustler in Athens in the 1950s, born to British father and Egyptian mother, is caught stealing travelers checks by a client he was hired to drive for, is beaten up by said client and forced to write and sign a confession, dated one week in the future, which the client tells him will be torn up if he performs certain duties, which move him deeper and deeper into a planned crime the nature of which he remains ignorant even as the authorities (He finds out when attempting to enter turkey his passport is expired and the authorities, through Interpol, learn this guy is a nogoodnick) require him to turn double agent, and the plot unfolds in the very unfriendly and ancient city of Istanbul. Great dialogue, really good descriptions of people and places, steadily building tension as our fish on the hook works and struggles to extricate himself without getting killed.
I was reminded a little bit of Elmore Leonard in that every character in this book is shady and shifty, the protagonist is a two bit hustler in Athens in the 1950s, born to British father and Egyptian mother, is caught stealing travelers checks by a client he was hired to drive for, is beaten up by said client and forced to write and sign a confession, dated one week in the future, which the client tells him will be torn up if he performs certain duties, which move him deeper and deeper into a planned crime the nature of which he remains ignorant even as the authorities (He finds out when attempting to enter turkey his passport is expired and the authorities, through Interpol, learn this guy is a nogoodnick) require him to turn double agent, and the plot unfolds in the very unfriendly and ancient city of Istanbul. Great dialogue, really good descriptions of people and places, steadily building tension as our fish on the hook works and struggles to extricate himself without getting killed.
December 19, 2025
The Light of Day by Eric Ambler is a tightly woven spy novel that replaces flashy espionage with raw, realistic details. It follows Arthur Abdel Simpson, a small-time crook and ex-resistance courier, who gets out of prison and quickly gets pulled into one last assignment. He’s sent to Athens to track down a guy who’s betrayed a Balkan revolutionary group. But things quickly spiral out of control as he gets caught up in international politics, secret police, and rival intelligence agencies. What starts as a simple task turns into a life-or-death fight for survival when Simpson realises he’s just a pawn for much bigger, more powerful forces.
One of the novel’s highlights is its character development. Simpson isn’t a hero or a villain; he’s cynical, worn out, and very human—driven more by a desire to stay alive than any strong beliefs. Ambler presents him as an average guy facing extraordinary situations, which makes the tension feel real and personal. The supporting characters—political players, informants, agents—are treated with subtlety, each showing different shades of moral ambiguity. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the characters emphasise Ambler’s main point: in spy-world, clarity is rare, and staying alive often means sacrificing innocence.
One of the novel’s highlights is its character development. Simpson isn’t a hero or a villain; he’s cynical, worn out, and very human—driven more by a desire to stay alive than any strong beliefs. Ambler presents him as an average guy facing extraordinary situations, which makes the tension feel real and personal. The supporting characters—political players, informants, agents—are treated with subtlety, each showing different shades of moral ambiguity. Overall, I enjoyed the story, and the characters emphasise Ambler’s main point: in spy-world, clarity is rare, and staying alive often means sacrificing innocence.
March 17, 2024
Not my typical genre but I found this book a real treat. I very much enjoyed the bumbling petty criminal main character who really couldn't help himself. His constant anger and resentment resonated and helped sell the ludicrous situation he found himself in. I dock a star because the final act feels rushed and is sprung on the reader at the last minute. There are also a few moments in which the main character has to defy some rather stupid odds which didn't land for me.
I've seen a few more negative reviews and it seems to me that if I had read more of this genre or started with a different Ambler book I'd rate this book worse. I guess we'll see. 4/5
I've seen a few more negative reviews and it seems to me that if I had read more of this genre or started with a different Ambler book I'd rate this book worse. I guess we'll see. 4/5
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