The story takes place pre-World War II, in 1937. Andre Szara is a Polish-born journalist working for the Russian newspaper Pravda. While just doing his job, he gets coerced into working with the NKVD (Soviet secret intelligence). Setting up base in Paris, Szara becomes pretty much a spy for Russia. He travels across Europe as a spy and a journalist, enlisting the help of an agent in Berlin with whom he develops romantic connections.

Ok. So a spy novel. But Furst knows his history...sometimes a little too much. But I loved the cloak and dagger feel of the book and the time period was just crazy. I can't imagine traipsing around Europe right before WWII.

I'm going to definitely check out his other books. ( )

I thought this was a very good book. It is a spy novel set in the years 1937-1941 in Europe. It is similar to some books by Eric Ambler where a novice is thrust into the world of espionage. The protagonist, Andre Szara, is a writer for Pravda who through circumstance becomes an agent of the Russian foreign intelligence service. His Jewish background figures prominently in the story because that fact was significant in all of Europe in that era.
Szara is always at the center of the plot. He becomes involved in separate ongoing plot lines as a journalist, a Russian spy, a British spy, a Zionist agent and a lover fighting an on and off battle for personal survival. The author fashions the characters with great subtlety. They all move in a world where the truth is not obvious and what is obvious is not the truth. Even Szara does not always share his thoughts with the reader until necessary.
Szara's two love affairs are portrayed with tenderness and poignancy. Szara shows a belief in love as the true goodness in life. He falls in love quickly and fully and this provides for Szara and the reader a respite from the quietly vicious actions that make up the majority of the interplay between the characters in the book.
The historical background of the book cuts a wide swath through the events of the period. Szara runs from Nazi bullies on Kristallnacht and travels with a Polish officer during the invasion of Poland. He reads a dossier of the early career of Stalin as a double agent of the Czar's secret service. These events add to the drama and emotional intensity of the book.
I would recommend this book as a well told adventure in an interesting historical era. The variety of characters and the significance of the events portrayed add to the enjoyment. I have one other book by this author and plan to read it soon. ( )

Furst is one of the best at creating the atmosphere of place, the era as seen by people at the time. I've been lucky enough to visit Paris, and he nails it - almost like being there again. ( )

This was a difficult book to read, especially the first part (with all of the Russian names and Russian history that I don't really know). But it really evokes the world of a WWII spy, with all of its grit. The combination of the book's atmosphere and its implicit history lesson makes a worthwhile read. ( )

Poorly written and confusing. Furst tells you that a character is "the type of man who ..." instead of showing character. Lots of historical detail, but poorly presented - reader must sit with wikipedia to figure out what half of the references mean. ( )