I read this book several years ago in trade paperback, and liked it so much it became part of my permanent collection. I didn't realize till last night that I had a nice mass-market paperback copy buried on my shelves; one of the dangers of being a book addict is duplication.
This was Alan Furst's second publication in what has become a wonderful body of work. He produces a book every year or two; this one was copyrighted in 1991. I hope he continues for a long time; the ones I have read so far have all been excellent.
His genre is European undercover agents during the middle of the last century starting in the late 1930's. Something a little different: most of the agents he writes about in his early work are employed by the Russians, so you get a completely different slant than you do from John LeCarre or Charles McCarry. He is a master of economic writing; while he doesn't flood you with detail about the back streets of European cities, you get the feeling you are there. The cover blurb on this book says "Like watching 'Casablanca' for the first time." and I second that emotion.
You've probably figured out that I love his work; I have everything he has published to this point, and am reading them in the order published. I don't just go from one to the next; they're too good to gorge on, so I ration them out and only read the next one when I am hungry for another treat.
This was Alan Furst's second publication in what has become a wonderful body of work. He produces a book every year or two; this one was copyrighted in 1991. I hope he continues for a long time; the ones I have read so far have all been excellent.
His genre is European undercover agents during the middle of the last century starting in the late 1930's. Something a little different: most of the agents he writes about in his early work are employed by the Russians, so you get a completely different slant than you do from John LeCarre or Charles McCarry. He is a master of economic writing; while he doesn't flood you with detail about the back streets of European cities, you get the feeling you are there. The cover blurb on this book says "Like watching 'Casablanca' for the first time." and I second that emotion.
You've probably figured out that I love his work; I have everything he has published to this point, and am reading them in the order published. I don't just go from one to the next; they're too good to gorge on, so I ration them out and only read the next one when I am hungry for another treat.
Published in England, written in 1991, this edition 1997, 521 pages.
Spy novel, set in Eastern Europe, 1937 on.
Spy novel, set in Eastern Europe, 1937 on.
