Jonathan Arnold reviewed Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst
Review of 'Midnight in Europe' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Typical Furst, with elegant writing and characters you really care about.
251 pages
English language
Published Jan. 8, 2014
3 stars
(7 reviews)
The future of Spain is at stake. Germany and Italy have ensured that Republican forces are starved of weapons and a Franco victory now looks likely. Cristian Ferrar, a Spanish lawyer living in Paris, is a well-connected man. When Ferrar is approached by anti-Franco forces, he readily agrees asked to help smuggle arms into his homeland. Working with de Lyon - an enigmatic man of Slavic descent - Ferrar goes on a quest which will take him from libertine nightclubs in the City of Light to volatile bars by the docks in Gdansk, as Europe holds its breath.
Failing to secure American support for the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War in 1938, a minor Spanish noble travels to Paris, where he promotes the Republic cause before undertaking a mission to infiltrate the Spanish government.
markm reviewed Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst
Review of 'Midnight in Europe' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Meh.
SlowRain reviewed Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst
Review of 'Midnight in Europe' on Goodreads
2 stars
Part of me wants to write a review about this book, because that's what I try to do for every book I read. However, I've decided to put as much effort into this review as Alan Furst put into writing the novel.
There is a fair amount of convenience and contrivance in this one, which I thought was unusual for Furst. The characters are less interesting than his usual. The narrative was still fine, but that may be the only positive. I'm not even sure we learn anything new about the lead-up to WWII or the times.
I'm guessing he either wrote it too quickly or he's trying for a wider audience and tried to make it more exciting. What he did was make it less Furst. Read it if you're a completist, otherwise seek out one of his better novels.
Subjects
- Intelligence service
- Fiction
- Illegal arms transfers
- Resistance to Government