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leaf900's review against another edition
3.0
Decent thriller I picked out from my Grandparent's books. Plot and characters are pretty average but I loved the depiction of the era and central Europe.
kanejim57's review against another edition
3.0
With this novel, Furst takes the reader to Hungary where another twist and turn plot takes place. Again the detail in Furst descriptive narrative is a challenge to follow.
duparker's review against another edition
3.0
Furst uses vague language to set up intrigue and drama with a twist of realism in this book. I found the drama of WWII Europe and the inequities of the lives of people who reside there in this story to be shadowy and full of a grime that is so different than popular WWII set stories. Furst is able to be gloomy and real, but also let the reader know that this is fiction. It's just not escapist fiction.
barts_books's review against another edition
4.0
My third Alan Furst novel in the, so far, excellent Night Soldiers series. By now you could quite reasonably argue that Furst is a formulaic author but this seems unfair when the result is the most atmospheric depiction of 1930's Europe I've read since Eric Ambler.
Set in 1938, Nicholas Morath is a former Hungarian WW1 officer that now resides in Paris with his young Argentinian mistress. He's effectively a full time spy runner for his Uncle Polanyi, who is working under Diplomatic cover in the Hungarian embassy.
What was quite fascinating was the perilous position Hungary was in in the late 1930's as Hitler gradually expanded his 'living space'. The country had a significant anti-Nazi elite but at the same time not openly so as such an attitude would result in a swift doom should the country become occupied.
As Morath expands his mission across Europe where he juggles with this dangerous and sensitive political picture, we witness Czechoslovakia - once strong and proud reduced to a humiliating push back post-Munich and Antwerp, where Jewish diamond traders eek out a dying trade with hostile Nazi's breathing down their necks.
The plot does meander and loses focus a touch at times. As Furst would rather spend time with his character's domesticities than the wider action at large, but the writing itself is exquisite and provides wonderful escapism.
Set in 1938, Nicholas Morath is a former Hungarian WW1 officer that now resides in Paris with his young Argentinian mistress. He's effectively a full time spy runner for his Uncle Polanyi, who is working under Diplomatic cover in the Hungarian embassy.
What was quite fascinating was the perilous position Hungary was in in the late 1930's as Hitler gradually expanded his 'living space'. The country had a significant anti-Nazi elite but at the same time not openly so as such an attitude would result in a swift doom should the country become occupied.
As Morath expands his mission across Europe where he juggles with this dangerous and sensitive political picture, we witness Czechoslovakia - once strong and proud reduced to a humiliating push back post-Munich and Antwerp, where Jewish diamond traders eek out a dying trade with hostile Nazi's breathing down their necks.
The plot does meander and loses focus a touch at times. As Furst would rather spend time with his character's domesticities than the wider action at large, but the writing itself is exquisite and provides wonderful escapism.
downby1's review against another edition
4.0
Furst's prose is excellent as always. He captures the chaos and confusion that consumed Europe as it drifted into the Second World War. The exploration of the pre-war years through the eyes of Hungarians, Czechs, and others formerly of the Little Entente was also a break from the more typical focus on the Allies and other Western Europeans.
However, I did feel that the book drifted in the middle and starts to lose itself after Morath's trip to Czechoslovakia. Furst righted course and managed to tie his various characters back together, but it would've been less rushed if given more time.
However, I did feel that the book drifted in the middle and starts to lose itself after Morath's trip to Czechoslovakia. Furst righted course and managed to tie his various characters back together, but it would've been less rushed if given more time.
joestewart's review against another edition
4.0
My second Furst novel and I'm hooked. Excellent writing.
newishpuritan's review against another edition
4.0
3-and-a-half stars. The plot is more episodic even than The Polish Officer. That book reads as a series of short novellas, but at least each of its sections has a clear shape, whereas here the scenes are all largely inconclusive. Obviously this is a feature in Furst, by means of which he is saying something about the nature of intelligence work – or indeed, all work, or even all of human existence. But I find those novels of his with a clearer overarching structure like Dark Star or Blood of Victory most satisfying. The protagonist here is also unique among Furst's heroes in his level of aristocratic privilege, and I personally prefer the novels with shabbier and more marginal figures, again like Dark Star, or the Casson of Red Gold. Also I found the sex scenes here more male gaze-y than usual. But in other respects the writing is superb, and the scenes, while floating separately from each other, are all powerfully and vividly rendered.
highestiqinfresno's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as the early books in the series, but still much better than the vast majority of spy fiction out there. First remains one of the best at using setting to create mood in the business and, even when the characters aren't particularly interesting, that's enough to keep me engaged throughout.
aszekely's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mose_poe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Extremely slow. No overarching thread connecting the main character’s “adventures”. Meandering.