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pghreader's review against another edition
2.0
This book should not be referred to as a spy novel, because it is not a spy novel. The characters are flat, there is no cohesive plot. The imagery is well written and Furst is well versed in lore and pop culture of the 1930-40s era.
I don't think I could recommend this book to anyone.
I don't think I could recommend this book to anyone.
jefecarpenter's review
5.0
This series of novels, up through Red Gold, is a profound experience of the second world war, told through characters that you come to know so well, and who you look forward to spending time with.
duffypratt's review against another edition
4.0
I've been reading so many big, clunky books recently that I'm somewhat at a loss when I hit upon a writer who is both clean and efficient. This type of writing definitely lies outside the norm for me now, and I have to say that I find myself wondering why. Maybe its just that it's so much harder to find a writer with this kind of skill.
I thought this book was a slight step up from his first two books, but I have a hard time putting my finger on exactly why. I think it comes down to this: instead of being relentlessly bleak, this book has hopeful development to it. The main character goes from being certain of his impending death to gradually coming to terms with the possibility that he actually might survive the war. And, while continuing to fight, embracing that possibility makes him extremely heroic.
The other aspects of the book are all solid: the research, the atmosphere, the secondary characters. Furst is really a fine writer, and he is the undisputed dean of the Eastern European WW2 Spy novel. I'm looking forward to reading more by him, but I don't want to race through. I've done that with other authors I've enjoyed, and then there's nothing else... This time around, I think I will hold off on reading the next book until I need something clean, efficient, and heroic -- if a bit bleak.
I thought this book was a slight step up from his first two books, but I have a hard time putting my finger on exactly why. I think it comes down to this: instead of being relentlessly bleak, this book has hopeful development to it. The main character goes from being certain of his impending death to gradually coming to terms with the possibility that he actually might survive the war. And, while continuing to fight, embracing that possibility makes him extremely heroic.
The other aspects of the book are all solid: the research, the atmosphere, the secondary characters. Furst is really a fine writer, and he is the undisputed dean of the Eastern European WW2 Spy novel. I'm looking forward to reading more by him, but I don't want to race through. I've done that with other authors I've enjoyed, and then there's nothing else... This time around, I think I will hold off on reading the next book until I need something clean, efficient, and heroic -- if a bit bleak.
kashmir_splendid's review against another edition
4.0
The Polish Officer, an engrossing and action-driven novel immersed in the realities of WWll, is completely unlike any other book I’ve ever read.
The protagonist, de Miljia, serves as an opportunity to readers to fully analyze the situations at hand, while also examining the perspectives of others. While de Miljia himself is not the primary focus of the story, we are able to experience the story through him as he serves a war-consumed country. This creates both emotional and pragmatic motives; as a loyal captain, he is trained to fight fervently for his beliefs. As a man who loses his country, identity, and humanity numerous times, he is character that is easy to empathize with, and thus propels the narrative in and engrossing manor.
As Furst builds scenes within the book, showing seeming arbitrary moments and conversations, the plot begins to unfold, revealing an expertly crafted glimpse into nearly half of the Second World War. He creates suspense seamlessly and drives situations to sheer uncertainly, only to shift the perspective upon climax, later answering readers’ nervous questions at to what came next. This aspect was deeply enjoyable and was done remarkably well, especially given the short length of the novel, in which most authors fail to create such fast-paced environments.
To other historical fiction lovers, this book is a must-read. Evoking a time of heartache, bravery, and the complexity of humankind, The Polish Officer presents 1939 in glorious detail, setting the bar for other books in the genre.
The protagonist, de Miljia, serves as an opportunity to readers to fully analyze the situations at hand, while also examining the perspectives of others. While de Miljia himself is not the primary focus of the story, we are able to experience the story through him as he serves a war-consumed country. This creates both emotional and pragmatic motives; as a loyal captain, he is trained to fight fervently for his beliefs. As a man who loses his country, identity, and humanity numerous times, he is character that is easy to empathize with, and thus propels the narrative in and engrossing manor.
As Furst builds scenes within the book, showing seeming arbitrary moments and conversations, the plot begins to unfold, revealing an expertly crafted glimpse into nearly half of the Second World War. He creates suspense seamlessly and drives situations to sheer uncertainly, only to shift the perspective upon climax, later answering readers’ nervous questions at to what came next. This aspect was deeply enjoyable and was done remarkably well, especially given the short length of the novel, in which most authors fail to create such fast-paced environments.
To other historical fiction lovers, this book is a must-read. Evoking a time of heartache, bravery, and the complexity of humankind, The Polish Officer presents 1939 in glorious detail, setting the bar for other books in the genre.
majkia's review against another edition
5.0
As usual, a chilling look at what total war does to countries, people and dreams.
bibispizzas's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ginkgoghost's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes when I read and my mind wanders I can read an entire page without actually absorbing anything I just read. I felt that that was happening to me throughout the entire book. There were a few interesting moments, but mostly it was just tedious.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
3.0
Captain Alexander de Milja defends his city of Warsaw as the Germans advance in 1939, but the Germans have too much firepower. The war in Poland is over almost before it is begun. Except it really isn't.
The Poles fight on by other means, implacably opposing their invaders in ways both great and small, but stealthily, indirectly, underground. Before the last shot of the direct war is fired, Captain de Milja is recruited to help carry on the indirect war. His first task is to transport the gold that constitutes much of Poland's national treasury out of the country and take it safely beyond German reach.
He accomplishes his task successfully and then heads on to Paris. Soon Paris, too, has fallen to the Germans, without a fight. The French government capitulates. The French people, however, do not. The Underground thrives in France as in Poland and many other countries that, one by one, fall to the German advance. Those who oppose Germany are all loosely connected and the Polish officer moves among them, working with them and disrupting German plans wherever he can.
Soon Britain stands alone among the governments of Europe in refusing to surrender to the inevitability of German rule. Many of those directing the Underground efforts make their way to London and liaise with the British in their common cause. The Polish officer remains on the continent and carries on the struggle. After being relieved of his post in France because he has lost so many operatives, he is called to London and briefly works behind a desk. But it is not his fate to sit safely behind a desk. Soon he is in the field again, in Russia in coldest winter.
In reviewing Furst's novels of this dark, dark period of Western history, it is often remarked that he is a master at evoking the atmosphere of that time. I was born after the period that he writes about so what do I know about whether the "atmosphere" is right? But it certainly feels right. It is fraught with danger and suspense. Every day, every moment might well be your last. How does one react and behave with such knowledge constantly at the forefront of the mind? Some - many - acted with courage and the indomitable will to oppose evil. We are in their debt.
Furst has said that although his novels are fiction, people like his characters actually existed and that he tries to give them life through his writing. I hope that the Polish officer existed and that he outlived the terrible war and found happiness and peace in later years.
The Poles fight on by other means, implacably opposing their invaders in ways both great and small, but stealthily, indirectly, underground. Before the last shot of the direct war is fired, Captain de Milja is recruited to help carry on the indirect war. His first task is to transport the gold that constitutes much of Poland's national treasury out of the country and take it safely beyond German reach.
He accomplishes his task successfully and then heads on to Paris. Soon Paris, too, has fallen to the Germans, without a fight. The French government capitulates. The French people, however, do not. The Underground thrives in France as in Poland and many other countries that, one by one, fall to the German advance. Those who oppose Germany are all loosely connected and the Polish officer moves among them, working with them and disrupting German plans wherever he can.
Soon Britain stands alone among the governments of Europe in refusing to surrender to the inevitability of German rule. Many of those directing the Underground efforts make their way to London and liaise with the British in their common cause. The Polish officer remains on the continent and carries on the struggle. After being relieved of his post in France because he has lost so many operatives, he is called to London and briefly works behind a desk. But it is not his fate to sit safely behind a desk. Soon he is in the field again, in Russia in coldest winter.
In reviewing Furst's novels of this dark, dark period of Western history, it is often remarked that he is a master at evoking the atmosphere of that time. I was born after the period that he writes about so what do I know about whether the "atmosphere" is right? But it certainly feels right. It is fraught with danger and suspense. Every day, every moment might well be your last. How does one react and behave with such knowledge constantly at the forefront of the mind? Some - many - acted with courage and the indomitable will to oppose evil. We are in their debt.
Furst has said that although his novels are fiction, people like his characters actually existed and that he tries to give them life through his writing. I hope that the Polish officer existed and that he outlived the terrible war and found happiness and peace in later years.
speesh's review
4.0
The period between the wars, especially the later period (we're of course talking Europe here) in the run-up to World War II especially in Eastern Europe, fascinates me. This is where Alan Furst's excellent novels are set. According to the introduction information, he has travelled and lived for many years in France and eastern Europe, though reading his books, you'd find it hard not to believe he wasn't transported in a time-machine, directly to today from Europe of the late 1930s.
The Polish Officer is part espionage novel and part fascinating look at ordinary people being forced to understand extra-ordinary situations. Situations made all the more extra-ordinary as their optimistic, post-World War I world is torn apart by forces beyond their understanding and, more importantly, beyond their control. It is surely a fictional companion piece to Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose.'
I found this an absolutely absorbing novel. By far the most satisfying Alan Furst novel I've read so far. It is set in Eastern Europe, in Poland, at the outbreak of World War II. The main character is drafted into Polish Intelligence, while the war causes the world around him to collapse. He and his colleagues try to re-establish their places in the new world and determine how the future of their country might look. Being Polish, they of course know that however things turn out, it's probably going to be largely out of their hands and that other, bigger and more powerful, powers will determine what happens to the Poles and so their job is to try and make the best of it, while also trying to make sense of it all.
He is sent undercover through Poland, to France, to Spain, to England and back to Poland where the Nazis are now on their way into Russia and the world is turning upside down once again. As i said earlier, I think the book is about people trying to make the best of situations that are largely out of their control. They are trying to remain in control of their lives, while realising that it probably isn't possible.
This is a thrilling, tense, satisfying book. There are many absorbing vignettes, many interesting characters, many thought-provoking episodes, all linked by the Polish officer of the book's title, who is, as he says at one point; "...a wanderer, somehow never home."
The Polish Officer is part espionage novel and part fascinating look at ordinary people being forced to understand extra-ordinary situations. Situations made all the more extra-ordinary as their optimistic, post-World War I world is torn apart by forces beyond their understanding and, more importantly, beyond their control. It is surely a fictional companion piece to Max Hastings' 'All Hell Let Loose.'
I found this an absolutely absorbing novel. By far the most satisfying Alan Furst novel I've read so far. It is set in Eastern Europe, in Poland, at the outbreak of World War II. The main character is drafted into Polish Intelligence, while the war causes the world around him to collapse. He and his colleagues try to re-establish their places in the new world and determine how the future of their country might look. Being Polish, they of course know that however things turn out, it's probably going to be largely out of their hands and that other, bigger and more powerful, powers will determine what happens to the Poles and so their job is to try and make the best of it, while also trying to make sense of it all.
He is sent undercover through Poland, to France, to Spain, to England and back to Poland where the Nazis are now on their way into Russia and the world is turning upside down once again. As i said earlier, I think the book is about people trying to make the best of situations that are largely out of their control. They are trying to remain in control of their lives, while realising that it probably isn't possible.
This is a thrilling, tense, satisfying book. There are many absorbing vignettes, many interesting characters, many thought-provoking episodes, all linked by the Polish officer of the book's title, who is, as he says at one point; "...a wanderer, somehow never home."