Dark Star: A Novel
by Alan Furst
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alan FurstEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-07-09
ISBN: 0375759999
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780375759994
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Dark Star: A Novel
Book Review: Mixed and Uneven Storytelling
Summary: 2 Stars
I am relatively new to Furst books, this being the second. I have to say that is was disappointing in many ways. I found Spies to Warsaw to be far more compelling, more tightly written, with a story line that was easy to follow. There were side stories, but they didn't overwhelm the main narrative.
This book was very rich in its history and setting the mood for Europe on the brink of war. And it was a fascinating angle to have the story told by a Russian journalist/spy. But it is sad that with all this promise, the book missed its mark.
For starters, it was too overwritten. Too many details that really bogged down the story. Do we really need two pages describing Andre's morning coffee? Or how he got caught in the rain, or several pages that described his preparation to meet the rich Frenchman?
Second, too many subplots and long ponderous dialogs from characters. Yes, the history of Palestine and the Hitler/Stalin partnership is fascinating, but would have done better as an author's note at the end--a summary of the history/events, rather than taking up pages of monologue from a character. It seemed that the author felt that he needed to include every historical event of the time period and have it entwined with Andre's life.
I would have still given the book 4 stars, because I liked it overall and this is my favorite period of history. However, Furst, like many authors, did not seem to know when to end his book. It should have ended with Andre still in Paris, wrapped up some loose ends, and ended it before war actually broke out. And left him working as a journalist/spy. That would have been the more realistic ending.
Instead, the last section of the book was just ludicrous, making this book more like 2.5 stars. Suddenly, we move from Paris to Poland without any explanation. His mission to Poland is never explained. Or maybe it was, but by that point, I was skipping pages just to get through it. And of course, he's there when the war actually begins. Then we are faced with page after page of Andre trying to get away from the fighting, boring conversations with a Polish officer, etc.
It is also unclear what the whole plot was with the comrade he accidentally runs into. Was this guy really sent to kill Andre? it would seem not, since their encounter was an accident, and the purges were over. If Andre was to be eliminated, it would have already happened.
But then we get Andre as a fugitive, hiding from the NKVD and trying to get to the safety of a neutral country. Really, this was so unnecessary. But again, pages of Andre traveling from here to there, trying to book passage on a ship, etc. Yawn...time to skim...
Then it is also ludicrous why he simply can't board a ferry in Hamburg to elsewhere. Furst's explanation is that the line of people was too thick, leading him to the railway. Huh? I had to read it over, but just scratched my head. Of course he could have stayed in Hamburg and gotten a ship out.
There was no need for him to go to Berlin, Hamburg and Berlin are not near eachother. But we had to have the obligatory romance, and then again, his arrest by the Gestapo also made no sense. Why would they pick him up? His German false identity was impeccable, no one knew who he was, there was no reason for the arrest. But I guess Furst wanted to throw in a Gestapo arrest. And then there's yet another miraculous rescue, in the nick of time.
And then it drags on still--it is really unclear what kind of work he is doing for the German officer, and we are "treated" to page after page of Andre floating around Europe, his experience as a pot washer in Turkey, and other exciting story lines. And then it suddenly wraps up all too neatly--a few phone calls and he's a permanent Swiss resident.
Important info, that the reader might have wanted to know about, such as what happens to the rich Jewish Frenchman after France falls, is ignored.
I think this section takes up about 150 pages. What a waste of time, and totally unnecessary for the book. What, was it too repugnant for Furst to leave a character as a loyal Soviet citizen, and continuing to work as a spy?
Anyway, I took off two stars for this ridiculous part of the story. I will continue to read Furst, but I hope his other books are more on line with Spies in Warsaw.
Summary of Dark Star: A Novel
Paris, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague, 1937. In the back alleys of nighttime Europe, war is already under way. André Szara, survivor of the Polish pogroms and the Russian civil wars and a foreign correspondent for Pravda, is co-opted by the NKVD, the Soviet secret intelligence service, and becomes a full-time spymaster in Paris. As deputy director of a Paris network, Szara finds his own star rising when he recruits an agent in Berlin who can supply crucial information. Dark Star captures not only the intrigue and danger of clandestine life but the day-to-day reality of what Soviet operatives call special work.Historical Books
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