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5.0étoiles sur 5
The Light of Day - Possibly Best Novel by Eric Ambler, Avril 26 2003
The Light of Day is an exceptionally good story that involves a rather unusual protagonist for a suspenseful thriller, a petty crook named Arthur Abdel Simpson. The setting is Athens and Instanbul in 1962. The book was a best seller, and it was adapted into a successful movie, a lighthearted caper titled Topkapi (1964). Peter Ustinov received an academy award for his portrayal of Arthur Simpson.Arthur, as the protagonist in The Light of Day, is disagreeable, dishonest, and disreputable. He blames others for his failings, he cheats his clients, and he has served a short sentence for distributing pornographic material. Arthur is caught stealing and is blackmailed into driving a car from Athens to Istanbul. The bumbling Arthur is arrested for smuggling at the Turkish border and now finds himself working unwillingly for the Turkish secret police. Neither Arthur nor the reader quite understands the situation. Is he mixed up with a political plot, arms smuggling, drug trafficking, or something else? Despite my misgivings, I found myself becoming sympathetic to Arthur. Had he conned me too? I highly recommend this suspenseful novel by Eric Ambler. I enjoyed (and reviewed) both Ambler's A Coffin for Dimitrios and Journey into Fear, but The Light of Day is even better. This book would be a good starting point for anyone new to Eric Ambler.
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4.0étoiles sur 5
Lively thriller by a genre master, Janv. 3 2002
Not least among the delights of this splendid book is that,until quite late in the day,the reader is never quite certain what type of book it is going to be.It hints at a spy story,it could easily turn out to be a political thriller with a coup at its centre In the event,it is a caper-heist story wih a gang of criminals intent on a daring museum robbery.(It was the source for the Peter Ustinov movie "Topkapi") The other great achievement of the novel is its narrator,"Arthur Abdel Simpson".He is the son of an Anglo-Egyptian couple,educated in a minor English private school and a man of dubious honesty and an ex-con into the bargain ,having served time for the dissemination of pornographic magazines.When the book opens he is eking out a living as an Athens taxi driver/tourist guide/pimp.He is interrupted in the act of robbing an American tourist,"Harper",who blackmails him into delivering a car from Athens to Turkey neglecting to mention the illegal cargo concealed in the vehicle .When the Turks discover this they force the reluctant coward to act as their agent within the gang to whom he is delivering the car and its contents The gang are intent on robbing the Topkapi museum and the robbery forms the climax of the novel.Arthur is a masterly creation-cowardly,quick witted,oleaginous,and physically unprepossessing,yet strangely likeable You end up caring for him and this transforms a well written thriller into something a little bit more memorable.The other characters are more sketchily drawn but this a minor caveat Recommended!
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5.0étoiles sur 5
The Light of Day, Avril 1 2000
Having been to the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey, I can say that Erich Ambler's book is geographically accurate. It is also breathtaking. I had read it years before, but find it even more interesting now.
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