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A review by jacki_f
Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst
4.0
Paris, 1938. Cristian Ferrar is a Spanish lawyer who is approached by the Spanish Republicans and asked to assist in the procurement of weapons for the Republican army to use in the Spanish Civil War against Franco's forces. He is paired up with a former arms agent, Max de Lyon. Together they will work to locate and obtain weaponry that will then need to be smuggled out of Europe and across to Spain. The story encompasses a number of locations: Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union.
Alan Furst has written a series of books which focus on different aspects of espionage in pre-WW2 Europe. There are connections between the books but you can read them in any order and each is a standalone story.
There are many things that I love about his writing. It's economical, but densely packed with details and wonderfully rounded characters, so you really feel that you are immersed in pre-War Europe with all its tensions and danger. There was one very small moment which has really stayed with me, when Ferrar is travelling on an overnight train through Germany, and sees the realities of the immense industrial efforts to build up arms in preparation for war. It's spine tingling.
If you're new to Furst's writing you should be aware that his books have an unusual plot structure. They tend to meander, moving from one mini-story to the next. There are connecting threads throughout - and indeed, this book goes a full circle - but there isn't really a sense of there being one coherent storyline. Nevertheless, the end result is very satisfying.
Alan Furst has written a series of books which focus on different aspects of espionage in pre-WW2 Europe. There are connections between the books but you can read them in any order and each is a standalone story.
There are many things that I love about his writing. It's economical, but densely packed with details and wonderfully rounded characters, so you really feel that you are immersed in pre-War Europe with all its tensions and danger. There was one very small moment which has really stayed with me, when Ferrar is travelling on an overnight train through Germany, and sees the realities of the immense industrial efforts to build up arms in preparation for war. It's spine tingling.
If you're new to Furst's writing you should be aware that his books have an unusual plot structure. They tend to meander, moving from one mini-story to the next. There are connecting threads throughout - and indeed, this book goes a full circle - but there isn't really a sense of there being one coherent storyline. Nevertheless, the end result is very satisfying.