Mission to Paris, by Alan Furst

 

Mission to Paris, by Alan Furst

 

Mission to Paris is one of those all too rare novels that strips away the characters’ coats of armor to revel real people, pushed and transformed in the awkwardness of real situations.  

 

I get so tired with the ho-hum triteness of perfection.  I think you know what I mean; characters always knowing the perfectly clever replies, making the right moves, with perfect timing, always choosing the best wine, staying in the best hotels, getting the girl, and forever being one step ahead of numerous adversaries. 

 

Frequently tucked into the clutter of plot, there’s also the triteness of heavy-handed romance.  Boy gets girl, loses girl, gets girl.  Even reminding yourself of the pattern makes you want to toss the book hard enough to dent the wall. 

 

Alan Furst, in all his novels, and definitely in Mission to Paris, avoids those careless blunders of perfection and the lack of them is the key to chiseled characters, dented and scratched by age and experience and inexperience, that glued me to each page.  This novel, that purports to be a spy novel, is more a study of humanity, supported by an intriguing and ever shifting and intensifying plot.

 

It is autumn of 1938 and the setting is Paris, a Paris straining under the threat of war.

 

To refresh your memory, in 1933 Hitler came to power in a Germany still seething over its treatment by the Allies at the end of World War I.  In many German political minds, France was the mastermind of this villainy.  While peace was now in hand, Germany burned with the need for white-hot revenge and the object of that revenge centered on France.

 

In 1938, the Germans were playing political poker, holding their cards tightly and making the world guess.  Would there be war?  Should France rearm?  Surely everyone wanted peace, n’est pas?

 

Despite this Parisian world of intrigue and uncertainty, Warner Brothers wants to film a movie, staring Fredric Stahl, Austrian by birth, but now a Hollywood heartthrob.  Stahl is mostly non-political and simply wants to make the movie and get back to America.  He speaks his native language, German of course, but also English and French.  He is also a star of some magnitude, making him the perfect chicken to be flavored, stewed, and served to an array of politicians and plotters of all the major players.

 

And while he innocently meets old friends and enjoys his favorite city, the pot begins to boil. Stahl is not immune.  He feels the heat building.  And suddenly the plot intensifies to heart stopping intensity.

 

The beauty of the writing and finely drawn characters alone carried its own joy, transporting me to that time and place.  Then the carefully crafted plot, carried me into the caldron of passionate intrigue and nail biting intensity.  This is a book that will haunt you and even make you doubt your own courage, as you’re engulfed in the rising flames of war.

 

Pick up a copy of Mission to Paris, by Alan Furst, and like all his other spy novels, you won’t want to put it down.

A Single Spy by William Christie

A Single Spy

The New York Times called A Single Spy, “A panoramic, smart, hugely enjoyable thriller.”  Even so, it sat on my ‘to read’ list for quite a while.  These days I go for quick, spicy reads and at almost 500 pages A Single Spy threatened to keep me occupied through the spring and into the summer.

But, I do like World War II spy stories, so eventually I plowed in and found I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.  It’s one of those well told tales that grip you so hard, that when you’re starving and your significant other calls “Soup’s on,” you beg for a few more minutes to finish the chapter, but then you lie and sneak in another chapter.

The author, William Christie, must have done an amazing amount of research to authentically reach into the life of a boy from the desert, both an orphan and thief, being threatened and recruited by the Soviets to be infiltrated into Nazi Germany as a spy.  Alexis Ivanovich Smirnov must accomplish mission after daring mission, while wading through the dark and muddy waters of suspicion and intrigue, with his life at risk with every step. 

Christie captures the intense action of the underbelly of war, with chiseled, indelible characters and a never ending string of secret plots and fast paced action, with Alexis living on the edge at every turn.

Stalin and Hitler, two of the most vicious and destructive creatures in human history, created tightly controlled regimes, build on cruelty, lies, and egocentric ambition.  Imagine being placed in the middle, where no one can be trusted and mere suspicion can end your life. Christie places Alexis in the midst of these almost unimaginably tumultuous societies.  His sense of detail and authenticity is so razor sharp that the reader is no longer reading, but living in the midst of danger, with every decision testing your courage and your humanity.

I suddenly found that 500 pages was not too long, but too short.  The pages flew by me like leaves in an autumn wind.  Twists and turns and a streaming plot kept me entranced from start to finish.  I didn’t just read about Alexis, I was right there beside him for every moment of mind numbing action.

Like World War II novels and well told spy stories?  Try on A Single Spy; you’ll find it’s a perfect fit.