The Spies of Warsaw: 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: 2009-06-09
ISBN: 0812977378
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780812977370
- Condition: New
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Book Reviews of The Spies of Warsaw: A Novel
Book Review: Spies and Lovers (Whatever Their Names Were) in Pre-War Poland
Summary: 5 Stars
Alan Furst writes taut, sexy, literary spy thrillers set on the verge of World War II. His writing is refreshingly astringent; the author plies his words with great attention to economy and effect. But his characters lack depth, which leads to the reader's sense of d?j? vu: it's as if only the names have been changed. Fortunately, THE SPIES OF WARSAW, a novel very much in the same genre, manages to distinguish itself despite these tendencies.
THE SPIES OF WARSAW concerns a French military attach?, Colonel Jean-Fran?ois Mercier, who is stationed in Warsaw. Running agents and mounting operations, he succeeds in collecting intelligence that strongly suggests that the Nazi government intends to attack its neighbors using tanks, and taking a tack through forests. Although Mercier builds his reputation with these successes, not surprisingly, the critical information he delivers is not well received. After all, France's impressive defensive Maginot Line would be folly if the Germans were simply to go around it through the Belgian forests--and how could that be?
The novel largely has to do with Mercier's intelligence activity; there are many threads and no overarching plot. Aside from the espionage games, a strong current running through the novel has to do with the widower Mercier's developing relationship with Anna Szarbek, a lawyer with the League of Nations. Their passionate love affair adds an erotic charge to the story.
In the end, Furst succeeds in adding another strong contribution to his literary vignettes of pre-war Europe. Even if his characters are not particularly colorful or memorable, his tales are engaging and the mood and settings he meticulously creates give the reader a wonderful "you are there" experience. (Daniel Gerroll is a effective reader who has to mimic a number of accents, most of them quite well.)
Summary of The Spies of Warsaw: A Novel
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 attach?, Colonel Jean-Fran?ois 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 himself in a passionate love affair with a Parisian woman of Polish heritage, a lawyer for the League of Nations. Risking his life, Colonel Mercier must work in the shadows, amid an extraordinary cast of venal characters, some known to Mercier as spies, some never to be revealed.Contemporary Books
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