The Polish Officer: A Novel
by Alan Furst
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 207)
Read in February, 2008
A man is hired to move a train load of gold from Poland after the initial invasion by Germany. Captivating! And yes, the first 80 or so pages were indeed immersive and wonderful - I had found a new author and I was going to take in all of his writings. I was going to be "In" with Furst.
And then the story ended with a horribly awkward transition right out of the Book Of Hollywood. To clarify: the book did not end. I had 200 or so pages to go. The main character's deliverance o...more
And then the story ended with a horribly awkward transition right out of the Book Of Hollywood. To clarify: the book did not end. I had 200 or so pages to go. The main character's deliverance o...more
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Once again Alan Furst uses a well-tried formula to construct an un-formulaic novel.. A more or less ordinary man finds himself in the midst of World War Two. In these extraordinary conditions, the ordinary man finds himself capable of surprising acts of courage and even heroism. The Polish Officer opens with the German invasion of Warsaw and within a few hours Captain Alexander de Milja, a cartographer by profession, is recruited into the Polish resistance's intelligence service.
Many...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommended to Ed by:
Head Butlerrecommends it for: WW II, Spy Literature, lovers of good writng.
This is my fourth Alan Furst book and the best so far. I got so caught up in the story that I finished it in two days. I literally could not put it down.
The struggles of Alexander de Milja, a Polish map maker, working for his government's intelligence services, to survive the German/Russian invasion of Poland in 1939 and the ongoing war, while maintaining his integrity and honor, is spellbinding.
The writing is so realistic that it would be easy to believe that Furst experienced the e...more
The struggles of Alexander de Milja, a Polish map maker, working for his government's intelligence services, to survive the German/Russian invasion of Poland in 1939 and the ongoing war, while maintaining his integrity and honor, is spellbinding.
The writing is so realistic that it would be easy to believe that Furst experienced the e...more
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Read in February, 2006
The Polish Officer, like Night Soldiers and Dark Star, is good for its picturesque detail and rich understanding of the deep ties and rivalries between European states during World War II. But what makes each of these novels excellent is the infusion of stories within stories, of the heroes among millions, who give to the inhuman scale of war a believable realism. In The Polish Officer, you find these stories in a seventeen-year-old Polish girl working at a wireless transmitter in a Paris wareho...more
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Read in January, 2004
This book has a scene of such heartbreaking sadness, desperation, fragility and beauty that I think about it quite often. For those that have read it, it's the scene near the beginning with young girl who wants on the train. It says something about the impact of war on the innocent and something else that I can't quite put my finger on. It's small scenes like this which make his books so dependably good.
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Read in January, 2008
One of my favorite of Furst's books, this is a great look into the war from the viewpoint of the Poles; who writes about that? Like many Furst books this one ends up in Paris, which is never a bad place for a book setting, and de Milja is a great character. The events portrayed in the book have the feeling of historical fiction; while they may not be true, they make me smell, feel, & taste the time.
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Read in May, 2007
This is a great quick read. It's a spy novel about a Polish intelligence officer in WWII. The reviews on the back cover all talk about Furst being a writer of "atmospheric" books and he is - I was completely drawn into the world he created. I would highly recommend this to someone looking for a good, entertaining book.
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A cryptographer has to transfer the gold reserve of Poland to some other country on a train. With mad refugees in tow. He somehow finds time to bed a few Eastern European farmer's daughters. Makes WWII sound like the best time ever. But maybe I'm just weird.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
people who like historical fiction, war stories, spy novels
This spy novel is extremely suspenseful. Set in WWII Europe, it takes the reader through exacting events and places as it weaves its story of morality, military strategy and philosophy. The hero is very attractive and becomes understandable.
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Read in January, 2007
Furst is an amazing writer who has you hooked by page one. His area is the world of Europe in the years just before and after the rise of Hitler. His works are well researched and his style is crisp and captivating.
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I'd say he's as good as Le Carre was at his best. A really good sense of atmosphere, and nothing extraneous in the telling. All of his books are set in WWII, and they all just reek of a more cynical Casablanca.
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Read in January, 2008
You feel the immense frustration and sadness of the hero as he struggles against the anti-Polish forces (Russian, German, etc.) during pre WWII Europe. Wonderful writer.
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Read in December, 2007
Furst is inspired when it comes to capturing the mood of ordinary people in war - the crushing fear, the anger, and the tiny shred of hope that never quite goes away.
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Read in July, 2008
This may be my favorite Alan Furst novel. He's so good I have to make myself hold off on reading the rest of his books so I have something to look forward to.
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Why is it that the Second World War so intrigues me? Every book I read on it marks me in some way, though I can't understand or explain why. Interesting.
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