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Fiction. Suspense. Thriller. Historical Fiction. HTML:�Kingdom of Shadows must be called a spy novel, but it transcends genre, as did some Graham Greene and Eric Ambler classics.��The Washington Post Paris, 1938. As Europe edges toward war, Nicholas Morath, an urbane former cavalry officer, spends his days working at the small advertising agency he owns and his nights in the bohemian circles of his Argentine mistress. But Morath has been recruited by his uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, a diplomat in the Hungarian legation, for operations against Hitler�s Germany. It is Morath who does Polanyi�s clandestine work, moving between the beach caf�s of Juan-les-Pins and the forests of Ruthenia, from Czech fortresses in the Sudetenland to the private gardens of the d�class� royalty in Budapest. The web Polanyi spins for Morath is deep and complex and pits him against German intelligence officers, NKVD renegades, and Croat assassins in a shadow war of treachery and uncertain loyalties, a war that Hungary cannot afford to lose. Alan Furst is frequently compared with Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, and John le Carr�, but Kingdom of Shadows is distinctive and entirely original. It is Furst at his very best. Praise for Kingdom of Shadows �Kingdom of Shadows offers a realm of glamour and peril that are seamlessly intertwined and seem to arise effortlessly from the author�s consciousness.��Janet Maslin, The New York Times �Subtly spun, sensitive to nuances, generous with contemporary detail and information discreetly conveyed. . . . It�s hard to overestimate Kingdom of Shadows.��Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times �A triumph: evocative, heartfelt, knowing and witty.��Robert J. Hughes, The Wall Street Journal �Imagine discovering an unscreened espionage thriller from the late 1930s, a classic black- and- white movie that captures the murky allegiances and moral ambiguity of Europe on the brink of war. . . . Nothing can be like watching Casablanca for the first time, but Furst comes closer than anyone has in years.��Walter Shapiro, Time.… (more)
User reviews
The hero of this book, Nicky Morath is a Hungarian patriot who lives in Paris and works in the advertising business, but actually he is working for his diplomatic uncle as a spy. His clandestine work pitches him against his own country’s new fascist regime in this shadow war against the Natzi ‘s.
The inclusion of countries like Hungry, Poland and Czechoslovakia in this story was interesting, as so often books about World War II involve only British Commonwealth countries or America. Alan Furst is a master as recreating this time in history. His descriptive writing style sets the mood and you are immediately carried away and filled with a dark and brooding sense of disaster looming.
If you have an interest in this time period I would highly recommend any of Alan Furst’s books, and, I think, Kingdom of Shadows is one of his best.
Mr. Furst also does a sensitive and sympathetic job of describing the desperation of the refugees attempting to flee before the Nazi machine. Happily he is able to help several and I was especially cheered when he helped a rather hapless American musician, with family roots in Vienna, escape the clutches of the bad guys.
The novel is like a series of short stories, loosely connected. The plus side of this is an array of interesting characters, intrigue and situations and "atmosphere". The downside is meeting somewhat interesting characters and then they are gone, as if they were the guest star of the week in a TV series. The chapter titles themselves clue you into this structure, although I didn't realize that at first. "In the Garden of the Baroness Frei," "Von Schleban's Whore," "Night Train to Budapest," and "Intermarium" are the parts, and there are side stories within those. This story structure ended up working very well and things do get tidied up by the end. The history in here is very good and was really worth the read. I had grown quite fond of Nicholas Morath by the end of the story. This was my first Furst. groan. I'll certainly read more by him in the future. Interesting time in history that I'm not terribly familiar with. Overall, a very good book.
Alan Furst once again recreates the feel of pre-World War Two Europe with what seems to be incredible verisimilitude. One feels as if one is really there; the mood, the atmosphere, a certain something. The Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, and other eastern Europeans really seem to believe that Hitler's armies can be stopped or at least slowed by various means, all of which appear ludicrous wishful-thinking in hindsight, but have a surface plausibility at the time in Furst's telling. Count Polanyi seems to sense the truth, although he never expresses it in so many words.
The thing about Furst is that the scenes he creates are so real that the reader doesn't really mind being a bit confused about what is going on at times. And to some extent the vagueness, the lack of clarity, the contradictions just reflect the way life was in those ennervating days.
Highly recommended for readers with a fondness for stories of espionage, WW II, or just enjoys fine writing. If you haven't tried an Alan Furst novel, you really should.
There is no one, overarching story. He goes on a series of trips to accomplish the tasks his uncle gives him, often without full knowledge of what will happen next as a result of his efforts. But, the book is an excellent portrayal of the mood and feel of the time.
The Recorded Books version comes with an interview with the author in which he says he
Good story but the plots are becoming a little too similar. This is my third
I can't relate much of the plot without spoiling the book, but I will say that the best line in the book is "I came here for you. I burned down this hotel for you." If you hsen't red this book, you're missing out on something special.