Last Train to Istanbul

A Novel

By: Ayşe Kulin John, John W. Baker - translator

Narrated by: Sanjiv Jhaveri

Born into privilege to one of the last Ottoman pashas, beautiful, spirited Selva is the brightest jewel in her father’s household - until she falls in love with Rafael Alfandari. Though Turkey has long been a safe haven for Jews, marriage between a high-ranking Muslim girl and a Jewish boy is strictly forbidden. Yet young love will not be denied, and Selva and Rafael defy their parents and marry, fleeing to Paris in hopes of a better life - only to find themselves trapped in the path of the invading Nazis.

But in the midst of darkness shines a beacon of hope: A handful of courageous Turkish diplomats, protected only by the tenuous neutrality of their homeland, hatch a daring plot to spirit the exiled lovers and hundreds of innocent Jews to safety. Together, they will traverse a war-torn continent, crossing enemy lines and risking everything in one last, desperate bid for freedom.

©2002 Ayşe Kulin (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ayşe Kulin is a clever writer. She draws the reader into the story of the life and loves of a Turkish family in wartime, and by the time the reader realizes that she has also cranked up the tension with a rescue plot, it is too late to put the book down unfinished. For aficionados of wartime novels, as well as for anyone glued to his or her seat watching the film Argo, this is a must read." (Helen Bryan, best-selling author of War Brides and The Sisterhood)

Slow

Kept waiting for something to happen. Narrator inflections were off at the end of character's statements.

Interesting WWII rescue story

All I know about Turkey is the Armenian Genocide, something the country does not admit. Because of this I was skeptical about Turkey's involvement in getting Jews out of France. I spent a small amount of time researching this, and discovered that Jews were invited to live in Turkey back in 1492 when they were thrown out of Spain. Although they were accepted as full citizens, some barriers remained.

In WWII, Turkey attempted to remain neutral, and those Turks living in France were encouraged to return to Turkey, this includes Turkish Jews. Unofficially some Jews were issued Turkish passports and identities in order to be helped out of France to the safety of Turkey.

The story revolves around two sisters. one living in Turkey and married to a government official, and one living in France married to a Jew. Despite the laws accepting Jews, families did not generally agree to mixed marriages and this couple felt compelled to leave the country. The machinations to get them out of the country by a specially arranged train car, were fascinating. Stories of many others attempting to leave are intertwined in the main plot.

The book never gets down to the horrors of the times in the way many WWII rescue books do, and I've read so many I don't think I could have endured another book on the topic. The horror can be overwhelming. I wanted to know more about Turkey's position and actions at the time. But need a less biased source. I do recommend it for a new viewpoint.

great historical fiction

This is a great historical fiction with many interesting character developments and personal interests to appeal to a variety.☺

Interesting topic, but too many characters, and accents a bit tough to follow

Felt like the story could have been shortened by 30-40%. Struggled at times to differentiate between some of the people. Felt like giving up a few times, but finally got to the end. Story line was good, but seemed tough to make the connections between the characters.

Loved learning more about Turkey's role in WW2

I enjoyed this book more than expected. From its description I expected too much romance and not enough exploration of the war and its affect on the Turkish characters. However, for the most part I liked it very much. I liked the two sisters and their relationships with each other and their respective husbands. I liked the new information I learned about Turkey's position in WW2, and how they mostly stayed out of it. The book made me curious to learn more and I found myself on Google multiple times. I like when historical fiction does that. There were a few complaints -- I didn't like Sabiha's relationship with the therapist at all. It felt gratuitous and slightly damaging to the character that I had grown to care about. I also felt the story about David's obvious PTSD was quite far off, in that everyone seemed to think he would just get over it. But then again, maybe that is the way it would have been treated at the time.