“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.” - Foreword Reviews
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.
Jen Stout is a journalist, writer, and radio producer from Scotland, frequently working in Ukraine. Originally from Shetland she has lived in Germany and Russia. Her reports are often found in the Sunday Post and on BBC Radio.
“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.”
~Foreword Reviews
"...a gripping first-hand account [of] front lines to besieged cities, from bombed-out basements to the homes and hospitality of the victims of war."
~Sunday Post
"Stout writes admirably, with intelligence, sympathy and understanding. It is a celebration of love, courage and care for others; hers is a world in which kindness holds it own."
~The Scotsman
"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, Bella Caledonia
"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
"Stout’s openness to the beauty that survives amid the dereliction, and the joy that survives amid the despair makes her book so extraordinary."
~Dani Garavelli, The Big Issue
"A luminous love letter to an embattled nation, as it resists the Kremlin’s imperial takeover. Volodymyr Zelenskiy does not appear. Its heroes are regular Ukrainians. Stout writes about them with an extraordinary and heartfelt empathy, as they do their best to live amid bombs and to survive."
~Luke Harding, The Observer
"Evocative, compassionate and extraordinary… from the battlefield, hospitals, underground shelters, and in cars and on trains, Stout transports the reader into a world few will ever see."
~Matt Johnson, LoveReading
"A celebration of Ukraine and a lament for it. This extraordinary book may have been written in compassion and anger, but the note that rings out is love."
~Peter Ross
"Jen Stout is a wondrous young writer from the Shetland Islands, bursting with humanity, boundless curiosity and an unrelenting enthusiasm for life ... This is the work of a writer with an exciting future ahead of her."
~Jon Lee Anderson
"Night Train to Odesa is a thrilling read. Rich in reportage and infused with a deep knowledge of Ukraine, it is a masterful book from one of the best young journalists in Britain."
~David Patrikarakos
Jen Stout's writing is an antidote to the cynicism of war. Night Train to Odesa is unlike any other book you’ll read on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . . . Her reporting is caring and immediate and this account is honest, intelligent, and visceral; it is independent reporting at its finest'
~Quentin Sommerville
"The brutality of the war in Ukraine is told with great empathy, compassion and skill by Jen Stout in Night Train to Odessa. She shows not only great courage in her reporting on the ground, but the immense human cost of war."
~Janine di Giovanni
"Jam-packed with vivid insight and empathy."
~Paraic O'Brien
"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
"A lucidly written personal narrative... the author makes use of many devices associated with literary fiction without becoming the story herself — the focus is always on Ukraine, the Ukrainian struggle, and its helpers."
~Robert Alan Jamieson, Artwork magazine
"...one of the most potent war correspondents of her generation."
~Neil Drysdale, Press and Journal
"In this immensely readable book Jen Stout offers us a rare insight into life in Ukraine while missiles target the major cities, and thousands lose their lives defending their country... masterful."
~Hans Marter, Shetland News
"Accounts of heartbreaking suffering are balanced against acts of incredible kindness and humanity, often coming from the most unexpected quarters. Recommended reading for anyone with a heart and an interest in the Russia/Ukraine conflict."
~Carola Huttmann, Bookmunch
"There is something timeless about this remarkable piece of reporting... an on-the-ground account of tremendous eloquence, vividness, and humanity."
~Radio Times
"Night Train to Odesa not only paints a nuanced picture of Ukrainian society at a pivotal moment in the country’s history but also offers a realistic portrayal of the demands of on the ground wartime reporting."
~Kyiv Independent
"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, The Herald, Top 10 Travel Books
"Its humanity is deeply affecting. Her encounters with Ukrainians are by turns inspiring, moving, sobering and amusing, but her mastery of language and tone is the thread that holds it all together."
~Shetland.org
"Brave and important journalism."
~Ann Cleeves
"[A] fascinating, moving, gripping, at times very frightening read."
~talkRADIO
A triumph of reportage... vivid, moving, and deeply human'
~The New European
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