The good news is that the Allies won (but you knew that), until the Soviets took over half the world and we entered the Cold War.

The “novels” always concern 1934 to 1945, more or less, and it’s Germany or Russia versus everybody and the Jews trying to survive and largely failing. But there is no story and only the loosest connection among the many characters that resurface and fade after a suitable number of blank dividing lines (never mind chapters), it’s hard to remember or keep track, or care.

Real people probably had those same experiences. What is it about this guy that attracts readers? He doesn’t write “spy novels,” but vignettes about ordinary people whose lives are peripherally affected by Extraordinary Events that are completely out of their control or even awareness. I’m ready for next book, and I’m certain that I’ll read them all. The wonderful descriptive prose does not take away from the actual story, but enhances it in a way that almost brings you to the scene. This book contains 5 chapters of about 100 pages each, with its own story that builds on the previous chapters. Furst’s narratives are well-paced and continuous rarely does he build up suspense and then switch scenes, a device used by far too many writers. Most of the spy stories I’ve read were told from the Western point of view, but this glimpse into the Stalin-era Russian operation was eye-opening. So I researched all his titles and decided to start at the beginning with Night Soldiers. I read the review of the book, and it had elements that appealed to me. Alan Furst was unknown to me until my local newspaper ran a story about his current novel, A Hero of France, since he was to appear in person at the next meeting of the paper’s book club. A thoroughly compelling read, I will be reading the entire series.

Night soldiers by alan furst