Night Train to Odesa
Covering the Human Cost of Russia's War
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Night Train to Odesa
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Narrated by:
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Jen Stout
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By:
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Jen Stout
About this listen
When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, millions of lives changed in an instant.
Millions of people were suddenly on the move. In this great flow of people was a reporter from the north of Scotland. Jen Stout left Moscow abruptly, ending up on a border post in southeast Romania, from where she began to cover the human cost of Russian aggression. Her first-hand, vivid reporting brought the war home to readers in Scotland as she reported from front lines and cities across Ukraine. Stories from the night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers: stories from the ground, from a writer with a deep sense of empathy, always seeking to understand the bigger picture, the big questions of identity, history, hopes and fears in this war in Europe.
Night Train to Odesa begins in Russia and continues to focus on people, relationships and individuals in Ukraine. It is the account of a young female reporter with no institutional backup or security. Both in language and themes, it is accessible and highly readable.
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK.
WINNER OF THE SALTIRE SOCIETY FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE AWARD 2025.
LONGLISTED FOR THE HIGHLAND BOOK PRIZE.
©2025 Jen Stout (P)2025 Birlinn LtdCritic reviews
'a vibrant and immediate account told through personal stories of people the author met and spoke with... the words she writes convey such intense images and paint such vivid and empathetic pictures that the reader too experiences the deep, human connections she makes'
(Heather Stacey)'Night Train to Odesa is beautifully and lyrically written. It is, quite frankly, a book unlike any other ... visceral, intelligent, and establishes Jen Stout as a reporter whose future is imminently bright'
(Nicole Yurcaba)'Jen Stout's great achievement is to tell the stories of ordinary people in extraordinarily difficult and dangerous circumstances. Night Train to Odesa is by turns sad and inspiring – and unfailingly fascinating'
(James Rodgers)'Relentless in its narrative fortitude, the memoir Night Train to Odesa is filled with detailed reportage from the front lines of Russia's war against Ukraine'
(Erika Harlitz Kern)'Vivid, passionate and unfailingly empathetic, but doesn't shy away from historical and present complexities'
(David Robinson)'Jen Stout is very brave. And she is a storyteller of supreme gifts. She has travelled through the war without the backup and financial support that comes with working for the big media organisations. I am in awe of her resourcefulness and courage'
(Fergal Keane)'The people [Stout] is happiest among are the medics and charity workers. It is their empathy that she shares, and wishes above all to illustrate. In 'Night Train in Odesa' she does so brilliantly. There will be many books about the war in Ukraine, but few will match the textured subtlety of this fine debut'
(Robert Alan Jamieson)'Jen Stout's book is not just a report of darkened cities and piteous survivors, but a highly personal journal of one young Scot's first experiences of war . . . moving and unforgettable'
(Neal Ascherson)'In evocative portraits from homes, battlefields, rattling buses and trains we see the determination, solidarity, heartache and humour of a people at war'
(Angus Bancroft)'With a talent for getting people to talk to her and share a glimpse of their shattered lives, Stout's highly personal informative reportage is haunting and memorable'
(Rosemary Goring)