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From Amazon
If you enjoy mysteries set against the rich background of World War II Europe (Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy and the fine French series by J. Robert Janes are prime examples), you should also know about Alan Furst. He began by writing such excellent, original books as Dark Star and Night Soldiers, all set in Eastern Europe. The locale then moved to Paris for The World at Night, where we first met the enigmatic film producer and reluctant Resistance hero Jean Casson.
Casson returns in fascinating form in Red Gold, washing up broke and depressed in his home city, now totally ground down by its German occupiers. Recruited by a sympathetic cop, Casson joins a group of officers working undercover inside the Vichy government to help de Gaulle. Casson's job is to convince justifiably skeptical French communists to cooperate; to do so he must organize a complicated, extremely dangerous transfer of weapons. There's nothing glamorous about the work or its result, but Furst is such a persuasive writer that we come to realize what a success it is for Casson just to stay alive. This innovative and gripping novel eloquently transports us back to a different era and a different world. --Dick Adler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
From the atmosphere established in his fifth novel's first sentence ("Casson woke in a room in a cheap hotel and smoked his last cigarette") to the knock on the door at the denouement, Furst again proves himself the master of his chosen terrain?behind the lines of Nazi occupation in France during WWII. His previous novel, The World at Night, opened in May 1940, with French film producer Jean Casson setting out to take newsreels of the defense of France's Maginot line and becoming swamped in the German invasion. It is now September 1941, and Casson, broke and hiding under a false name, is about to commit fully to the Resistance. As a man of indeterminate political affiliation, he's chosen to negotiate between the Resistance and the French Communists, who, with the German army on the verge of taking Moscow, have orders from Stalin to sabotage the Nazis in any way possible. The "red gold" SS looters try to steal in Russia is a metaphoric payment in blood, while in Paris informers are everywhere and collaboration is still rampant. Furst's textured plot?exhibiting shifting loyalties and betrayals; lone, often hopeless acts of heroism; and lovers bravely parting?makes for spellbinding drama. (In one scene, a clandestine radio operator broadcasts a few moments too long, and hears soldiers' boots racing up the stairs to get him.) Furst, who deserves the comparisons he's earned to Graham Greene and Eric Ambler, seems to be settling into a franchise here, rather than reaching for the fire he caught in his third novel, The Polish Officer. Casson's story unfolds convincingly, however, and as it continues here to April of 1942, promises a few more episodes to come from this author's tried and true brand of masterfully detailed espionage.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Swiftly plotted and well-written,
By R. Petersen (B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red Gold: A Novel (Paperback)
Of the few books I have read so far by Alan Furst, "Red Gold" is the best. I could not put it down until I finished it. What I really like about Furst's writing is that he is able to sketch characters and scenes very quickly and memorably. And he portrays his idealistic characters with a worldly sympathy. The milieu his writing draws you into may not be entirely based on reality, but it certainly seems real as you become involved with the characters and their dilemmas. The main character in "Red Gold" is a former film producer who decides to take an active part in the French Resistance during the German occupation of France in WW2. He is destitute and wanted by the Gestapo, but manages to survive mainly because he is helped by numerous selfless idealists along the way, also dedicated to defending their country. Furst's writing is subtle, poetic, and precise. I would heartily recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read quality fiction that hooks you from the first page.
4.0 out of 5 stars
atmosphere but thin plot,
By
This review is from: Red Gold: A Novel (Paperback)
this is a good book for curling up with on a cold rainy day. As other reviewers have said, the atmosphere is great. And, also as other reviewers have said, the plot is not very significant. What you get with Furst is: good atmosphere and a likeable hero, who, however, is pretty much the same in each book. Personally, I would would like the books to have a bit more character and plot development, so that it doesn't seem as though the events and characters are basically interchangeable; but the books are entertaining nonetheless.
4.0 out of 5 stars
cigarette smoke and fog,
By Jimok580 "okie580" (bergen county, nj) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Red Gold: A Novel (Paperback)
I suspect when a person reads any Alan Furst book, he is left with the feeling that some insane person has ripped out the last hundred pages or so. And so it is with 'Red Gold'. Furst is a master of atmosphere and characterization, but always seems to me to be a bit wanting in plotting. That said, I consider myself an enormous fan of Furst's. This book centers around Jean Casson, a down-on-his-luck film producer stuck in Paris without friends or money. He is thrust into the resistance and becomes a liason between a group of french army officers and the communist resistance.Casson has several thrilling adventures, amorous and violent. He hides in Paris, afraid of being recognised by old associates, but knows in his heart there is a war to be fought and, though he may be a reluctant warrior, he chooses to fight. Furst's novels all have a connection, the Brasserie Heininger, and it appears again here. So even though I get the feeling there are some missing chapters here, the war will continue in Furst's next novel.
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