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geekwayne's review against another edition
3.0
'Midnight in Europe' by Alan Furst is book 13 in his Night Soldiers series. It's a series that takes place in the immediate years before World War II.
I've only read a couple of these. The ones I've read center around normal people who get caught up in the war and do clandestine stuff they normally wouldn't do. This time around it's a Spanish lawyer named Cristian Ferrar. He gets talked into buying arms for one side of the Spanish civil war. This takes him from France into all kinds of dangerous, soon to be Nazi, territory. He is on the side of the Spanish Republic while Germany was siding with the Spanish Nationalists. The Republic needs the weaponry to fight back against a well supplied force. We follow the initial buying of the arms, then the attempt to get them out of a trainyard and on to a ship in Danzig.
The suspense is fairly low key by most thriller standards, but that just makes it play more realistically. Also, the time and locales seem to be well researched. If this were a fantasy novel, I'd make a comment about Furst's worldbuilding skills. His level of detail is rich and immersive. Still, I found this one not as likeable as the last one I read. The plot elements are fine, but my attention wandered a bit. I should really go back and read one of the early entries in the series.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
I've only read a couple of these. The ones I've read center around normal people who get caught up in the war and do clandestine stuff they normally wouldn't do. This time around it's a Spanish lawyer named Cristian Ferrar. He gets talked into buying arms for one side of the Spanish civil war. This takes him from France into all kinds of dangerous, soon to be Nazi, territory. He is on the side of the Spanish Republic while Germany was siding with the Spanish Nationalists. The Republic needs the weaponry to fight back against a well supplied force. We follow the initial buying of the arms, then the attempt to get them out of a trainyard and on to a ship in Danzig.
The suspense is fairly low key by most thriller standards, but that just makes it play more realistically. Also, the time and locales seem to be well researched. If this were a fantasy novel, I'd make a comment about Furst's worldbuilding skills. His level of detail is rich and immersive. Still, I found this one not as likeable as the last one I read. The plot elements are fine, but my attention wandered a bit. I should really go back and read one of the early entries in the series.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
gracefulege's review
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kanejim57's review against another edition
4.0
This volume in the series brings America into the pre-war turbulence.
I again liked the characters, but it was a slower paced work.
I again liked the characters, but it was a slower paced work.
krobart's review against another edition
2.0
See my review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/day-531-midnight-in-europe/
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/day-531-midnight-in-europe/
jacki_f's review against another edition
4.0
Paris, 1938. Cristian Ferrar is a Spanish lawyer who is approached by the Spanish Republicans and asked to assist in the procurement of weapons for the Republican army to use in the Spanish Civil War against Franco's forces. He is paired up with a former arms agent, Max de Lyon. Together they will work to locate and obtain weaponry that will then need to be smuggled out of Europe and across to Spain. The story encompasses a number of locations: Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union.
Alan Furst has written a series of books which focus on different aspects of espionage in pre-WW2 Europe. There are connections between the books but you can read them in any order and each is a standalone story.
There are many things that I love about his writing. It's economical, but densely packed with details and wonderfully rounded characters, so you really feel that you are immersed in pre-War Europe with all its tensions and danger. There was one very small moment which has really stayed with me, when Ferrar is travelling on an overnight train through Germany, and sees the realities of the immense industrial efforts to build up arms in preparation for war. It's spine tingling.
If you're new to Furst's writing you should be aware that his books have an unusual plot structure. They tend to meander, moving from one mini-story to the next. There are connecting threads throughout - and indeed, this book goes a full circle - but there isn't really a sense of there being one coherent storyline. Nevertheless, the end result is very satisfying.
Alan Furst has written a series of books which focus on different aspects of espionage in pre-WW2 Europe. There are connections between the books but you can read them in any order and each is a standalone story.
There are many things that I love about his writing. It's economical, but densely packed with details and wonderfully rounded characters, so you really feel that you are immersed in pre-War Europe with all its tensions and danger. There was one very small moment which has really stayed with me, when Ferrar is travelling on an overnight train through Germany, and sees the realities of the immense industrial efforts to build up arms in preparation for war. It's spine tingling.
If you're new to Furst's writing you should be aware that his books have an unusual plot structure. They tend to meander, moving from one mini-story to the next. There are connecting threads throughout - and indeed, this book goes a full circle - but there isn't really a sense of there being one coherent storyline. Nevertheless, the end result is very satisfying.
retiredlibrarylady's review against another edition
3.0
Spy novel set in Europe just towards the end of the Spanish Civil War and the start of WWII. A man's book for sure.
constantreader471's review against another edition
4.0
A solid 4 stars
I read this library book in 2 days. It is a taut, suspense filled story of spies in Paris, France, in the winter of 1937-38. It is obvious to most people that the Spanish Civil War is just a prelude to a European wide war. The main character is Christian Ferrar, a Spanish émigré and lawyer for a prestigious Paris law firm. He is approached by the Spanish Embassy for assistance in buying arms, desperately needed by the Republican army. He agrees to help and is soon enmeshed in a world of spies and counterspies. How he manages to survive is a thrilling tale, told by a master of the genre. If you like Eric Ambler's spy stories, then you will like this series.
One quote on Spanish pastries available in France:
"At one time, pastry in Spain had been baked and sold in convents, so the names of the little treats came from those days. Ferrar bought huesos de Santo, saints bones, tetas de novicias, novice nuns' breasts, and suspiros de ninja, nuns' sighs.
I read this library book in 2 days. It is a taut, suspense filled story of spies in Paris, France, in the winter of 1937-38. It is obvious to most people that the Spanish Civil War is just a prelude to a European wide war. The main character is Christian Ferrar, a Spanish émigré and lawyer for a prestigious Paris law firm. He is approached by the Spanish Embassy for assistance in buying arms, desperately needed by the Republican army. He agrees to help and is soon enmeshed in a world of spies and counterspies. How he manages to survive is a thrilling tale, told by a master of the genre. If you like Eric Ambler's spy stories, then you will like this series.
One quote on Spanish pastries available in France:
"At one time, pastry in Spain had been baked and sold in convents, so the names of the little treats came from those days. Ferrar bought huesos de Santo, saints bones, tetas de novicias, novice nuns' breasts, and suspiros de ninja, nuns' sighs.
downby1's review against another edition
4.0
Midnight in Europe encapsulates the frantic effort and energy devoted to preserving the republican government during the Spanish Civil War. While these efforts proved futile, the dedication of those individuals fighting against Franco and his Falanage-led coalition proved a greater reflection of the war that consumed Europe a few years later. Furst does an admirable job of capturing this chaotic era, especially with his snapshot approach to characters and viewpoints. He adds layers to his contemporary characters by flipping major characters from other books, such as S. Kolb and Count Polyani, into peripheral players. This shows how interconnected Europe was even after the tribulations of the First World War and the political factionalization of the '20s and '30s, but also speaks to how so many influential members of the Continent's government and society simply allowed the fascist movements to press on with their ambitions in the testbed of Spain.
byashleylamar's review against another edition
2.0
I read a lot of WWII fiction and I watch a lot of WWII movies so it's possible that being so over-saturated in the genre has caused me to become overly critical. I try to consider each book, and each film, on its own merit but I find that I can't help but compare books to one another. When I do that it is inevitable that one eventually disappoints me and unfortunately that is what happened here in Midnight in Europe. It's a good book but it just cannot stand up against some of the more incredible WWII novels I've read recently.
Midnight in Europe very simply didn't feel finished. It didn't read like a finished novel with well-developed characters, a complex plot and a style that forces readers to lose track of time as they wander through the pages. This felt like a well-perceived draft but it didn't feel finished. It felt rushed, as though Furst was racing to meet a deadline and submitted this book on time, in the 11th hour, just to avoid being late and yet knowing full-well that it isn't his best work.
I picked up, and put down, Midnight in Europe at least four times before actually finishing it. I received this book as an advanced copy prior to its publication in July, 2014 and it is now September. It took months to finish a book I would have normally finished in 2-3 days. There is just something major missing; the hook isn't there.
It's truly unfortunate. The best thing I can say is do not judge Alan Furst based on this work. He has written many other (much better) novels that I am certain readers will enjoy. As for Midnight in Europe, skip it.