This is a great read. It begins in a small town on the Danube in Bulgaria in the 1930s where local bullies don Fascist Uniforms and kill a young man. His brother, Kristo, involved in the fight with the bullies, now has no future in the village and is recruited by an agent of Soviet Russia for training as an undercover communist agent. The methods used are cruel and competitive. Kristo is sent to Spain along with others from his course and there are scenes from the defence of Madrid by the Republicans aided by international volunteers. The Russian NKVD enforces obedience and conformity mercilessly, the slightest hint of inconvenient allegiances among the men it has control of can result in execution even in the face of the enemy.
Escaping from the NKVD in Spain, Kristo reaches Paris and works as a waiter in the Brasserie Henninger (the restaurant appears in Furst's other books, eg The Polish Officer) using a false identity, with even more identities to follow as he leaves Paris in advance of the German invaders. Near the border with Switzerland he finds a home after helping refugees from Paris. He cannot remain aside from the war and joins the local French resistance group organised by an American and there is much more incident and other characters to come.....
Escaping from the NKVD in Spain, Kristo reaches Paris and works as a waiter in the Brasserie Henninger (the restaurant appears in Furst's other books, eg The Polish Officer) using a false identity, with even more identities to follow as he leaves Paris in advance of the German invaders. Near the border with Switzerland he finds a home after helping refugees from Paris. He cannot remain aside from the war and joins the local French resistance group organised by an American and there is much more incident and other characters to come.....
The story also follows the fate of others he first met on his training course in Moscow including scenes in Siberia and a forced labour camp. Alan Furst is always convincing with his knowledge of the political background, the terrain and the history of the areas his characters range across. He mentions a history of the OSS as a primary source.
He creates great atmosphere and characters; the episodes are good stories. Furst reminds me of Patrick O'Brian in this respect, another writer whose research was the basis of great novels. Both writers are elliptical, leaving scenes to be interpreted by the reader. You may have to re-read a few lines to pick up all the clues to who is doing what. It is worth it. And worth re-reading again later to absorb all the detail.
Ten out of ten. I you like John Le Carré's novels set during the Cold War then you will enjoy this book and Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, and Red Gold.
He also wrote an advert for a type of vodka.
He also wrote an advert for a type of vodka.
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