Alan Furst: The Foreign Correspondent

The Foreign Correspondent: A Novel by Alan Furst
rating: 5 of 5 stars

As my first foray into espionage thrillers, I was excited to see what was ahead -- would it be military-focused and procedural (ala Tom Clancy?) I hoped not. I wanted something more akin to Patricia Highsmith. I wanted brooding, the anti-hero, classic European sights, twisting plot, dark and light characters.

I definitely got that -- and more: history, pre-WWII, insights into the political machineries that Hollywood-produced movies self-centeredly miss.

As a fan of fantasy books, with their self-produced maps and a world built from scratch -- I found a close resonance in Furst's world, although his map is of Paris. I was tempted to pull open Google Maps and try to verify; but the descriptive writing, the way he weaved me into the surroundings authenticated the facts and I completely believed the story.

I'm off to buy my next Furst novel.

Tschüß!