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82nd out of 427 books
—
363 voters
The Spies of Warsaw (Night Soldiers #10)
by
Alan Furst
An autumn evening in 1937. A German engineer arrives at the Warsaw railway station. Tonight, he will be with his Polish mistress; tomorrow, at a workers’ bar in the city’s factory district, he will meet with the military attaché from the French embassy. Information will be exchanged for money. So begins The Spies of Warsaw, the brilliant new novel by Alan Furst, lauded by...more
Hardcover, 266 pages
Published
June 3rd 2008
by Random House
(first published 2008)
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This is not a spy novel, but a novel of espionage and the politics of war, or in this instance, of preparation for war. Mercier is a military attache assigned to Warsaw; he collects information from the Poles and the Germans and from an insignificant seeming German engineer who has access to military plans. There is a rich cast of characters, and awonderful detailing of daily life, politics, and the lead-up to war in Warsaw and Paris. Some of the individuals are real and others are fictional. Th...more
Alan Furst is a genre master, historical spy novels set in the 30s and early 40s, whose sense of history comes from Tolstoy and understanding of the scale of human drama comes from the short stories of Chekov and Joyce. Furst’s novels are compact. The action occurs on the margins of great events. They have the ring of truth in their every detail, whether it’s a period detail or the details of how real events play out with small climaxes and anti-climaxes. The tales remain satisfying because even...more
This book turned up on my GoodReads list a couple of weeks ago.
What started as a snack turned into a meal and then into a banquet. I am now working on my seventh Furst book a la Kindle.
If Le Carre approaches the point of departure where "spy thriller" become serious literatire, Furst easlily transcends it.
His heroes are all Liberals. In the classic sense of the term. They hate Hitler and Stalin equally. I am down with every one of them.
Furst pretty much writes the same book over and over -- and...more
What started as a snack turned into a meal and then into a banquet. I am now working on my seventh Furst book a la Kindle.
If Le Carre approaches the point of departure where "spy thriller" become serious literatire, Furst easlily transcends it.
His heroes are all Liberals. In the classic sense of the term. They hate Hitler and Stalin equally. I am down with every one of them.
Furst pretty much writes the same book over and over -- and...more
8 likes
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Of the 3 First books I have read this is least developed. And for a spy novel there is not so much action in regards to spying. Or at least not as much as I expected.
And yet. I still very much enjoyed this read. Although I say it was not as well developed I mean that in terms of complexity. As novels go the story itself developed nicely as he spent the first half of the novel developing the plot, characters and the budding romance. I was intrigued by all of this but then in the final half it bec...more
And yet. I still very much enjoyed this read. Although I say it was not as well developed I mean that in terms of complexity. As novels go the story itself developed nicely as he spent the first half of the novel developing the plot, characters and the budding romance. I was intrigued by all of this but then in the final half it bec...more
2 likes
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Alan Furst is one of the best writers of spy novels going. I wouldn’t rank this one among his best, but it was very good. Like all of Furst’s books, it derives poignancy from the hindsight that, despite the best efforts of the protagonist, interwar Europe was doomed.
The protagonist, Colonel Mercier (the French military attachė in Poland) is running a spy within the German armaments industry, hoping to learn what Germany’s war plans are in regard to France. Everything is based on partial informat...more
The protagonist, Colonel Mercier (the French military attachė in Poland) is running a spy within the German armaments industry, hoping to learn what Germany’s war plans are in regard to France. Everything is based on partial informat...more
I am a great fan of Alan Furst. He has written 10 novels about World War II, primarily espionage or other secret activities. I have devoured all 10. This novel is the most recent of the those, more or less hot off the presses.
What I like about Furst's novels is that he puts me in a time and place with memorable effect. When I finished "The Spies of Warsaw" I felt as if I'd been living in Warsaw in the late '30s. A map of the city is even included. I enjoyed referring to it, not a distraction, a...more
What I like about Furst's novels is that he puts me in a time and place with memorable effect. When I finished "The Spies of Warsaw" I felt as if I'd been living in Warsaw in the late '30s. A map of the city is even included. I enjoyed referring to it, not a distraction, a...more
This isn't a bad book, but I ultimately found it very frustrating. The main character is a French diplomat and spy working in Warsaw in 1938. He knows very well that the Germans will invade soon and that Poland will stand alone against them. But he spends most of his time (and the book) going to cocktail parties and trying to get a girlfriend. This is probably an accurate representation of how people do deal with impending doom, but still, I couldn't help but wish he seemed a little more concern...more
I read this after watching the new TV version of it starring David Tennant because another DT fan said the book was better. I'm not really sure what they were talking about. I patiently listened to this book (on CD), the the viewpoints of B characters that were comically two-dimensional and pointless, really. I kept waiting to know more about the hero of the book, but his internal dialogue kept me wanting the entire time. He was most likable when thinking about his home and dogs, but that had be...more
I am so happy to have "discovered" Alan Furst. This is my third of his, and though I think "Night Soldiers" was a masterpiece and got 5 stars from me, Spies of the Balkans, and The Spies of Warsaw are damned good.
John Le Carre, master that he is, has never written a character I've been able to warm up to. Ice water in the veins. A certain lack of flesh and blood. Alan Furst, though not the stylist that Le Carre is gives us warm blooded characters - many of whom I've actually liked, and who I wo...more
John Le Carre, master that he is, has never written a character I've been able to warm up to. Ice water in the veins. A certain lack of flesh and blood. Alan Furst, though not the stylist that Le Carre is gives us warm blooded characters - many of whom I've actually liked, and who I wo...more
Furst excels at weaving the humdrum of everyday life through a larger geopolitical story spanning a number of countries. And so it is with The Spies of Warsaw, which traces the convoluted life of Jean-Francois Mercier in the lead up to the Second World War, and his various dalliances and missions. The plotting is slow and ponderous at times, and occasionally a little clunky, but Furst works to draw the reader in and tug them along, and as with previous books the narrative is highly informative,...more
I have read every Furst novel (except the newest one). They are all the same, in that there is an accidental sort of hero, in pre-WWII Europe, who must make moral choices he (always a male) would rather avoid. They are all different, in that Furst draws the reader into the specific world of each protagonist, and that world may overlap with characters in others of his novels, but these seem to be real people, living real lives. The richness of detail of Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, and other cities and...more
Alan Furst has written a number of spy novels set in the late 1930s. Whilst they invariably take place in different locations with a new cast of characters, there are some links between the books. What sets his writing apart is the sense of authenticity and the way that the books ooze tension and menace.
This book is set predominantly in Warsaw, Poland, between 1937-38. A country caught between Communist Russia on one side and an increasingly militant Germany on the other. Our hero is Mercier, th...more
This book is set predominantly in Warsaw, Poland, between 1937-38. A country caught between Communist Russia on one side and an increasingly militant Germany on the other. Our hero is Mercier, th...more
"The Spies of Warsaw" is an entertaining and very readable espionage novel that is set in Poland (primarily), France and Czechoslovakia in 1937 and 1938, when Germany was hatching a secret plan to invade Poland. The principal character is Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, a man of aristocratic lineage, who is a veteran of the First World War. He is the military attaché at the French Embassy in Warsaw. Under a cloak of secrecy, he is responsible for a network of spies and is charged with getting hol...more
Furst is the greatest of today's atmospheric spy writers. His books feature reluctant spies, usually of the left, brought into intrigues thanks to the rise or rule of Nazi Germany. The plots are often languorously described and sometimes fall away at then, Furst it seems is more interested in how his characters deal with their terrible situations than in the situations themselves. He will therefore disappoint readers hoping for a tightly plotted thriller. If you want exquisite descriptions of a...more
If anything, I liked this even a little better than 'Spies of the Balkans.' Furst immerses the reader in the diplomatic community of 1937 Warsaw, a community chock full of spies. It's a fascinating bunch, and because you are never sure where anyone's loyalties lie, they make for suspenseful reading.
The blueprint is the same as in 'Balkans,' although the protagonist with a code of honor, a French military attache named Jean-François Mercier, is already in deep into espionage at the beginning of t...more
The blueprint is the same as in 'Balkans,' although the protagonist with a code of honor, a French military attache named Jean-François Mercier, is already in deep into espionage at the beginning of t...more
The best thing about this novel (and about all of Furst's novels, from what I have glimpsed) is that it manages to recreate the atmosphere of Europe between the two world wars in a very realistic, believable way, but also with an almost excruciating emotion: something very bittersweet emanates from Furst's writing, and from the condemned Europe he describes; you can grasp the tenderness the author feels for the doomed people and countries he evokes - they know what awaits them. The characters Fu...more
There are a number of reasons why this mediocre spy book (I hesitate to call it a novel, as that implies something undeserved in the way of characterization, plot development, aesthetic sense, or relation to reality) over-irked me, but I’ll spare you all but the biggest: we have here a Warsaw of the late 1930s which, remarkably, is populated solely by war-hating-yet-honorable aristocrats and shabby-yet-dignified proles who all despise Hitler, harbor no anti-Semitism, and (even correcting for the...more
Alan Furst is hailed on his books as 'widely recognised as a master of the historical spy novel' and by the New York Times as 'America's pre-eminent spy novelist'. The pity is that he is none of these things. The filters obviously omit Brit contenders like John Le Carre, Frederick Forsyth, Ian Fleming and one his novels are very comparable with: Eric Ambler. A look at lists of top US spy novelists reveals Tom Clancy, Martin Cruz Smith, Donald Hamilton (Matt Helm) and Edward S Aarons (Sam Duvell)...more
I really enjoyed The Spies of Warsaw. I had read a couple of Furst’s novels when the series first got started. As I recall, the details and atmosphere of WW 2 Europe recreated by Furst for these novels were impressive. On the downside were some of the characters, many of whom struck me as clichéd types from wartime movies. Imagine Casablanca as not one, but a series of novels. Well, the characters seem better drawn now. Oh, there are evil Nazis, and damaged, but gallant heroes, and beautiful wom...more
This was my first Furst novel, but it probably won't be my last. I enjoyed the characterization of Mercier, the military attache (spy) who conducts surveillance for the French in Poland prior to WWII. He was neither too "gung-ho" nor too jaded, which I found appealing in a protagonist. The novel is actually four intertwined episodes, each with its own crisis and resolution, which I had not expected, but was pleased with at the end. Overall, a satisfying read.
I was a bit disappointed by this book, to be honest. Furst had a very clear writing style, an in depth knowledge of his subject area, and a few interesting ideas and characters, but I did not feel the novel as a whole lived up to its potential. The plot did not really progress beyond the historical events, and as the start of the Second World War is so frequently covered by fiction and non- fiction, there was little suspense over the course of events. Several interesting ideas were begun, but th...more
Utterly absorbing; vividly real and exciting; morally complex, yet painless. Ranks with KINGDOM OF SHADOWS as an all-time best. Either will serve if you are new to Furst.
This is _transparent_ storytelling: you aren't aware of words on the page, or the author's cleverness, or any of that postmodern meta bullshit. The story takes hold of you on the first page, and doesn't let go until you finish (wishing it would never end).
Furst is a great novelist, a serious novelist (like Graham Greene); his th...more
This is _transparent_ storytelling: you aren't aware of words on the page, or the author's cleverness, or any of that postmodern meta bullshit. The story takes hold of you on the first page, and doesn't let go until you finish (wishing it would never end).
Furst is a great novelist, a serious novelist (like Graham Greene); his th...more
FURST, ALAN The Spies of Warsaw, 2008 read September 2008
This is the third or fourth Hurst wartime novel I have read and I already recognised some of the types of character. The hero is from an upper class French family, polite, restrained but languidly attractive to women, he overcomes his depression and uncertainties to be actively heroic, willing to give up his life in situations where he assesses the sacrifice is more important. The women are more vulnerable, dependent on men and not impacti...more
This is the third or fourth Hurst wartime novel I have read and I already recognised some of the types of character. The hero is from an upper class French family, polite, restrained but languidly attractive to women, he overcomes his depression and uncertainties to be actively heroic, willing to give up his life in situations where he assesses the sacrifice is more important. The women are more vulnerable, dependent on men and not impacti...more
This is a very atmospheric spy novel dealing with the prewar period (1937), the action shifting from Warsaw to Paris, S.France, Silesia & Germany. The central character is Mercier, a French aristocrat, veteran of WW1, and spymaster, working in Warsaw where he gets a German businessman to provide information on German tanks, and is exposed when he saves him from an attack. He later conducts spying operations in Germany, and ultimately subverts an insider in the SD(security branch of the SS)wh...more
Sep 06, 2010
Clif Hostetler
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
This book does a good job of describing the intrigue and danger of the world of spies in Warsaw shortly before the beginning of World War II. The reader of today knows what's about to happen, but the characters in the book are not so blessed. The characters in the book are pretty sure that war is coming, but they have no idea of when or where. According to this story a clever spy for the French is able to piece together evidence of how and where the Germans plan to attack France. But according t...more
I liked "The Spies of the Balkans" so I decided to try "The Spies of Warsaw." Good spy business. I like Furst's style. Again, as was the case with "Balkans," I didn't really like the romance/sex scene parts of the book all that much, but I was willing to tolerate them because he kept the rest of the plot humming and there was genuine tension in the cloak and dagger parts. I know that the romantic interludes are part of the genre, but Furst doesn't do the greatest job integrating them with the re...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
With The Spies of Warsaw, Furst continues to assert himself as the contemporary master of historical espionage. Although he has condensed his vision in recent efforts, Furst's latest combines a relentless verisimilitude with intricate plotting and well-drawn characters. That attention to character, however, was a double-edged sword for critics: too much character development, and the plot suffers; too many plot twists, and the characters become cardboard cutouts. By creating atmospheric, complex
...more
Lt. Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, French military attache in Warsaw.
"He looked, ..., he thought, like some lost soul sentenced to live in a Russian novel."
Anna Szarbek, lawyer with the League of Nations. Escort for diplomatic function.
Night recon in SW Poland, near Katowice, Mercier finds a buried tank trap, a sign that Germany has switched from a defensive posture to an offensive one.
A kiss with Anna.
Another recon, on Raven Hill, (Rabenhugel). NM observed a technique to get tanks through a for...more
"He looked, ..., he thought, like some lost soul sentenced to live in a Russian novel."
Anna Szarbek, lawyer with the League of Nations. Escort for diplomatic function.
Night recon in SW Poland, near Katowice, Mercier finds a buried tank trap, a sign that Germany has switched from a defensive posture to an offensive one.
A kiss with Anna.
Another recon, on Raven Hill, (Rabenhugel). NM observed a technique to get tanks through a for...more
It is 1937 and Colonel Mercier is the newly arrived and not very enthusiastic military attaché at the French embassy in Warsaw. However following the exposure of one of his agents, a potentially career-ending event, Mercier is able to engineer a sequence of events that reveal the German plans for the invasion of France.
There are any number of reasons to like this novel - the well-constructed and suspenseful plot, the beautiful descriptions of Warsaw and other parts of Europe, and the diplomatic...more
There are any number of reasons to like this novel - the well-constructed and suspenseful plot, the beautiful descriptions of Warsaw and other parts of Europe, and the diplomatic...more
Fabulous. The best spy novelist ever. All his books tend to focus on Europe just before, or during World War Two. In this one most of the action take place in Warsaw in the mid-to late 30s. It begins with a German engineer in Warsaw to meet his mistress. But he's also recrutited by the french intelligence to pass on important tank information to them. He does so, reluctantly, for cash.
But that's just the start. As with any Furst novel, the plot is subtle and evocative. There is romance, intrigue...more
But that's just the start. As with any Furst novel, the plot is subtle and evocative. There is romance, intrigue...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Would make for a great Woody Allen Movie!!!! | 6 | 8 | May 19, 2013 08:55am |
Alan Furst is widely recognized as the current master of the historical spy novel. Born in New York, he has lived for long periods in France, especially Paris. He now lives on Long Island.
Night Soldiers novels
* Night Soldiers (1988)
* Dark Star (1991)
* The Polish Officer (1995)
* The World at Night (1996)
* Red Gold (1999)
* Kingdom of Shadows (2000)
* Blood of Victory (2003)
* Dark Voyage (2004)
* The F...more
More about Alan Furst...
Night Soldiers novels
* Night Soldiers (1988)
* Dark Star (1991)
* The Polish Officer (1995)
* The World at Night (1996)
* Red Gold (1999)
* Kingdom of Shadows (2000)
* Blood of Victory (2003)
* Dark Voyage (2004)
* The F...more
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