Review of The Spies of Warsaw

I've just discovered Alan Furst, though I can't remember how. I think I ran across his name and one of his novels skimming through a list on Audible.com, thanks to a friend who gave me a 3-mth subscription. I listened to the audio version, read by Daniel Gerroll, whose claim to acting fame seems to rely on a recurring role in Knot's Landing and Cashmere Mafia. Hearing him read The Spies of Warsaw reminds me of Mr. Holland's Opus, a movie about a man who took a teaching gig only until he could write great music and then discovered that though he was a mediocre composer, he was a great teacher. Mr. Gerroll makes this novel for me, in part because it's not the sort of book I would normally pick up. His ability to infuse characters with personality and to read a variety of  accents well, important since 1930s Poland was peopled with Poles, Germans, Swiss, French and Russians, enables the reader to suspend disbelief and capture the wonderful atmosphere so important to Furst's work.

The novel itself is about a military attache, Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier, who finds that what he thought would be a boring desk job is, in the years leading up to another World War, the epicenter of a city in which espionage and betrayal are like silent rivers flowing under seemingly peaceful streets. Working quietly among the military and social salons of Warsaw, he pieces together tiny bits of information that take him to Germany and Paris, to speak with spies and to persuade men and women to betray their countries in an effort to save Europe from another German invasion.

But the real story is the impact WWI and its aftermath had on Eastern Europe and the world. Though Poland is once again a country, the Poles have to monitor their German neighbors, fearing another march across the borders--and not unreasonably, as we know. The Russian Revolution is twenty years old and Stalin's Gulag is full, the Great Purge beginning; Franco is waging civil war in Spain; Hitler and the Nazi Party rule Germany. This fascinating novel is about the forces of these ancient nations moving inexhorably towards war--and the egocentric men who refuse to see what others have put right before their eyes.

If I have any qualms with The Spies of Warsaw, it would be my feeling bogged down by details at times. The pace is slow in the beginning, and you have to listen carefully or you'll miss important information. Also, one weakness of audio with a novel of this kind is that I sometimes struggled to remember who was whom. Still, I recommend this for anyone who likes historical novels or who enjoys seeing the grand sweep of history. Furst captures both in his tightly plotted, atmospheric work.