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Mar 22, 2010

Nancy-jo added it

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. More...

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Jun 28, 2008

Rick rated it:

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...

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Jun 29, 2008

David rated it:

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 pr More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2011

Jeremy rated it:

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 More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 21, 2008

Ron rated it:

A little less dense in texture than his many other books on espionage in Europe in the days leading up to WWII, this is still Alan Furst in command of his turf and his story. In this case the focus is on Warsaw in late 1937 and early 1938, before it has been devastated by the German invasion that sets off WWII, mostly seen through the eyes of Colonel Jean Francois Mercier, a decorated and wounded veteran of WWI, and the French military in Warsaw.

Mercier, in his capacity as military More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 11, 2008

Jim rated it:

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 par More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 16, 2008

Paul rated it:

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 More...

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Feb 23, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

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 con More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 28, 2011

Roger rated it:

"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 wit More...

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Feb 18, 2011

Tripp rated it:

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...

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Sep 14, 2010

Lars rated it:

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 b More...

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Apr 12, 2010

Denis rated it:

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 F More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 26, 2009

Ann rated it:

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...

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Mar 18, 2010

Steve rated it:

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 beautifu More...

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Jul 21, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

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.

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Feb 18, 2010

Jeffrey rated it:

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 (lik More...

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Sep 11, 2009

Fiona rated it:

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 no More...

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Sep 06, 2010

Clif rated it:

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 accordi More...

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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

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Sep 27, 2009

Cliff rated it:

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 th More...

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Jan 11, 2010

Kenyon rated it:

I read this book over the past few days. It is the first book I have read in 2010. I had never heard of this author before the book was recommended to me, but very much enjoyed him, and have ordered another Alan Furst novel. Briefly, the novel takes place in Poland and France in 1937. Colonel Mercier is a French military attache, newly assigned to Warsaw. He recruits a German spy an engages in his own spying and amorous activities in the lead-up to WWII. What makes this book so good is the More...

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Oct 04, 2011

Nancy rated it:

Good book. Rather slow paced, but good plot. Love WWII stories.

War is coming to Europe. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. At the French embassy, in Warsaw, the new military attaché, Colonel Jean-François Mercier, a decorated hero of the 1914 war, is drawn into a world of abduction, betrayal, and intrigue in the diplomatic salons and back alleys of the city. At the same time, the handsome aristocrat finds More...

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Oct 16, 2010

Wanda rated it:

Alan Furst is widely praised as being a master of the WW II espionage thriller. I was really less than thrilled. This book was about 250 pages with tons of white space and filler -- more like a novella. Although the tone of pre WW II Poland was conveyed well and in a brooding way such that you knew something bad was coming and the descriptions of Warsaw and the shenanigans of the intelligence and diplomatic community were interesting, neither saved this book from being a slow go. It took me near More...

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Aug 06, 2010

Renata rated it:

Loved the story and the time period of 1937. He captures the anxiety and uncertainty of the espionage community and the governments of Europe at the time. Liked the characters and could not wait to read another of his books. Followed this one up with Night soldiers which I read on my nook. It was a much longer and and involved story in which he portrays the chaos of the European communities. My heart bled for the young soldiers who were trying to survive the changing political currents sweepin More...

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Oct 15, 2010

Toni rated it:

“The Spies of Warsaw” is a fiction recounting the work of European spies in the months leading to WW11. The year is 1937 and Germany is secretly preparing to invade Poland…..

The story is of Col. Jean- François Mercier, a French embassy’s military attaché in Poland whose job is to handle routine diplomatic work and attend nightly social obligations. His position provides him with the perfect cover to obtain crucial information on Germany‘s war plans. Behind the lines he covertly runs More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Ellen rated it:

I am a big fan of Alan Furst. I've read all 10 of his novels - all of which are set either just prior to WWII or during the early years of the war. Most of the novels connect to Paris - as does The Spies of Warsaw, and all involves espionage, generally with someone rather reluctantly being sucked into the process. In this, his latest novel, the central location is Warsaw. There's danger, romance, atmosphere and great attention to the accurate reportage of the history as it unfolds. And what More...

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May 30, 2010

Marc rated it:

The best so far of the several Alan Furst novels I've read. I think I've already commented on the connection between Fursts Central European just prior to WWII settings, and the events of my father's life, but more than that it is the excellent quality of the writing, especially the rendering character so often missing or given short shrift in favor of dry recitation of details gleaned from fanatical research in most historical fiction, that keeps me coming back for more. No doubt this will acco More...

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Jan 07, 2009

Anne rated it:

This was one of my middle of the night books, but turned out to be so compelling that I stayed up until 2 last night reading it. When the exterminator came early this am, I was struggling to drink coffee and wake up.(On that subject, no evidence of critters actually inside.) I love these WWII spy stories, so much more interesting than the crazed religious terrorists of today. Furst is actually a good writer, no heaving bosums, no gratutitous violence, but enough suspense to keep you turning th More...

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Jul 03, 2009

Linda rated it:

The cover and title caught my eye as I browsed through the airport bookstore - in a hurry I didn't really take the time to check it out in good order. The Spies of Warsaw was okay - interesting to read about the climate and intrigue of the days leading up to World War II. The romantic encounters of Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier took up a little too much space for me - I would rather have have delved more into the espionage angle. In the end it felt more like a day in the life of ... with ever More...

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Sep 03, 2011

Pondering Pig rated it:

This is a spy novel, not a thriller. It's more like the author's idea of what it was like to be a military attaché for the French government stationed in Warsaw in 1937. I enjoyed his atmospheric, carefully controlled writing, it was like watching a black and white movie. He vividly recreates the era. The story wanders around, possibilities take shape and peter out, like life often does. Low body count, lots of discreet upper-class sex. The Nazis are villainous, the hero's French superiors ar More...

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