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!

Je vais ala Paris?

Last night, on Globe Trekker (a fantastic travel show on PBS and The Travel Channel that we’ve watched for years), they showed their Paris City Guide 2 -- an updated look at that fantastic city...I remember going there when I was 16 with my friend and his Dad...it was a magical, albeit short, trip.

I love European cities. The lack of skyrises. Bajillions of people walking on textures that are anything but grey concrete. History and the thought that someone like me -- perhaps even related to me -- stood on the same spot as me having the same thought as me. Ahhh...the romance of history.

Museums are some of the more popular sights in Paris, but we’re not totally museums types. In Deutschland, we went to Residenz and it was great. The Deutsches Uhrenmuseum (German Clock Museum) was a hoot. But after an hour or so, we lose interest. We’d rather walk, eat, drink, watch, and explore. Can you imagine the types of wandering we could have through the dozens of city “arrondissements”? Or, sitting at a sidewalk cafe (where all of the chairs face the street to watch the free show) sipping an espresso and anecdoting about the day? It sounds perfect to me...

Tschüss!