Day 92: The spies of warsaw (6/21/2008)

I have been an Alan Furst fan since my eldest brother first introduced me to his unique brand of historical spy fiction ten years ago. Plus he once worked for Margaret Mead and so as anthropologist I feel I have a connection, however limited that might be. He is however at his best when he focuses on events leading up to WWII. His latest work The Spies of Warsaw examines the intrigue of Warsaw just before the German invasion. The characters are solid and human. They are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances and Furst would appear to want us to ask what would we do in these situations. If some Soviet spies were going to be sent back to be executed would we rescue them.

There is also always some background to previous novels so the Bulgarian shootout appears in every novel and has become somewhat of a requirement for an addition to all of his novels.