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Kingdom of Shadows
Availability:
In Stock
Price:
$15.00
$6.50*
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| Part No: | 0375758267 |
| Manufacturer: | Random House Trade Paperbacks |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.0 / 5.0 |
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- ISBN13: 9780375758263
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Penzler Pick, January 2001: The thrillers of Alan Furst usually take place in the dark days preceding World War II, but while the main participants in that war are of course portrayed, Britain, France, Germany, and the United States do not usually star in Furst's novels. He prefers instead to focus his stories on the citizens of those countries whose allegiances and roles in that particular theater of operations are much more contradictory and conflicted. Kingdom of Shadows is set in Paris during 1938 and 1939. It is unclear at that time what the fate of Hungary will be if Hitler has his way, but a small group of expatriates would like to insure that events turn out in their country's favor. Nicholas Morath is an Hungarian aristocrat who fought bravely in the Great War. He is now part owner of an advertising agency in Paris, while his uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, is a minor diplomat stationed in Paris. Polanyi calls on Nicholas to take part in missions against the Hungarian Fascists: carrying letters or bringing individuals back across the border in the course of his business trips. As Nicholas's dinner parties, business deals, and dalliances with his mistress start to take a back seat to the escalating crisis in Europe, his tasks become more complicated, dangerous, and bewildering to him. He knows far less than the reader, who understands that his actions will have far-reaching consequences even beyond the fate of Hungary. Nicholas just does what he can without the luxury of historic hindsight. Furst has fashioned here an elegant gem that vividly portrays the city of Paris during the last peaceful days of 1938 and the menace of Hitler's ambitions in the Sudetenland and beyond. Nicholas Morath is a charismatic and sympathetic figure who will come to understand, as the war progresses, the consequences, both good and bad, of his smallest actions during that turbulent time. --Otto Penzler
In spymaster Alan Furst's most electrifying thriller to date, Hungarian aristocrat Nicholas Morath—a hugely charismatic hero—becomes embroiled in a daring and perilous effort to halt the Nazi war machine in eastern Europe.
From the Hardcover edition.
| Another Great Example of Bad Literary Fiction | 2009-03-01 | 1 / 5 |
| I read this book out of duty as it was a gift from my brother, "Does it get exciting?" I asked about halfway through, "Not really" he said. Hmmm, well perhaps it has other virtues.
As far as I can tell, not really.
STYLE
First of all Furst's style is painful. He has an annoying gimmick of leaving a key sentence out of a description like "He felt an pang of hunger. Noticed a cafe. Place a coin on the table as a tip." Its like reading a declassified government document with key words blacked out, but at least that is mysterious. In addition, Furst is one of those writers who does not use quotation marks, which leads to a lot of reader confusion for the sake of a lame attempt of atmosphere.
PLOT
Very thinly plotted, episodic story of a Hungarian aristocrat/ad executive with a young mistress who gets sent on vague pointless missions by his uncle. I spent the who book waiting for something to happen but nothing ever did. The book's "climax" sent the hero on a self-styled mission to save a doddering old composer. Not only was it not exciting but pointless in the world of spycraft as the rescued man had not strategic value in the world of espionage and little cultural value either. This is not John Le Carre
CHARACTERS
People who seem interesting by virtue of their breeding and place in society but Furst doesn't bother to develop them much. The hero in this book is meant to be aristocratic, handsome, athletic, smart, successful, attractive (his girlfriend does not meet the "half your age plus seven"-rule), successful. So why is he so boring? Well for one thing, he has no character flaws. Think of George Smiley's shyness and corpulence. Heck, think of Achilles. Good fictional characters need flaws to overcome and to appear sympathetic to readers.
SENSE OF PLACE
Although it is unfair to compare almost any writer to V.S. Naipal, Furst couldn't place a reader in a Peoria 7-11 much less pre-War Europe. After having read Naipal I really feel like I've been to the places he describes, with Furst I actually have been there and don't recognize them. He doesn't paint the picture.
HISTORICAL NOVEL
These books are meant to be scrupulously researched. I guess I can grant him that, although I can't say I learned very much about the events leading up to WWII. There was a fairly interesting description of the fortification that the Czechs made in preparation for the German invasion which they ended up not utilizing because of lack of ally support. Other than that, nada.
CONCLUSION
Read Le Carre, or even Tom Reiss' The Orientalist if you want an exciting yarn about the events leading up to WWII.
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| Fiction at it's best | 2009-01-02 | 5 / 5 |
| Kingdom of Shadows is a contemplative slice of history, rich in characterization and setting. The theme, like other Furst novels, is the common person in uncommon circumstances.
The story effectively conveys the anxiety which spread throughout Europe in 1938 and 1939, in the months prior to WWII. People try to go on with their lives under the most trying of circumstances, but the concern about impending events pervades all aspects of life, not just political matters. In that way, I found the story to resonate with the global economic woes of today. Set against this backdrop is a Hungarian diplomat who engages in a series of exploits. Those adventures are in turn, political, romantic, and financial. Throughout, he is faced with the moral and literal ambiguity of political intrigue. This theme is at the heart of the novel. There is a constant uncertainty not only of whether one's actions amount to a hill of beans, but also is that hill of beans morally right? The rapidly shifting political climate of the times brings a whole new depth to that classic dilemma.
Furst's style deeply immerses the reader in the atmosphere, with rich descriptions for all the senses. The minor characters play an important role in establishing that atmosphere as they are defined in ways that help paint a exquisite portrait of the time and place. A surprise, for me at least, was the appearance of characters and events from Night Soldiers, another Furst novel. The intertwining of stories in that way was a clever technique to highlight the historical context. Some patience is required of the reader as some story lines seem to be left unresolved, only to unexpectedly come to fruition later. In the end though, Furst succeeds in making you feel the deeply conflicting views and feelings of the time. |
| Not my favorite Furst, but still mighty good | 2008-11-17 | 4 / 5 |
| | Alan Furst does his usual great job of evoking a particular time and place, due to either fantastic research or a brilliant imagination or both. (Did you know the Austro-Hungarian Empire had 10 official languages ? Me neither.) My quibble is with the plot, which meanders quite a bit. The main character performs various risky tasks for his rather mysterious uncle Janos, but it's not clear whether these fit into some overall plan. Perhaps that was Furst's idea, to portray Morath as a tiny cog in great events. The bottom line though is that it's still a great read for any fan of historical fiction set in the 1930's. |
| gripping peri-war drama | 2008-05-11 | 5 / 5 |
| | I am eagerly looking forward to reading more books by Furst. Set in Europe at the start of WW2, this is a well-fashioned story of bravery and idealism. |
| Kingdom of Shadows | 2007-10-14 | 4 / 5 |
| Kingdom of Shadows is the second Alan Furst novel I've read. This one follows the opening days of the war with Hitler's rise to power but from the point of view of the owner of an advertising agency in Paris who is balancing his time between work, his mistress and some espionage for his Hungarian uncle.
Nicholas Morath and his small group of friends remind me of the idle and bored characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's, with Tender is the Night coming specifically to mind. The only difference is that their parties are set against the backdrop of the early days of WWII. Family duty forces Morath to attempt heroic acts at a time when he (and most of the rest of Paris) is having trouble believing what is on the horizon.
As with Dark Voyage, the middle section of the book drags a bit as Hurst pauses to let the historical events play out. The characters step aside and the book becomes more of a book report than a novel. While it's good to get things in context, these interludes are best when skimmed. |
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