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The World at Night: A Novel (Paperback)

by Alan Furst (Author) "10 May, 1940. Long before dawn, Wehrmacht commando units came out of the forest on the Belgian border, overran the frontier posts, and killed the..." (more)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; Reprint edition (Jan 8 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375758585
ISBN-13: 978-0375758584
Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 205 g

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #34,510 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.com

From Alan Furst, the author of such spy novels as Dark Star, Night Soldiers, and The Polish Officer, comes The World at Night. Set in Paris just following the fall of France to Germany in 1940, the book tracks film producer Jean Casson, a hard-core denizen of Paris nightlife. The Nazi occupation brings with it shortages, travel restrictions, and the petty humiliations of life under the German occupiers. But it offers Casson the chance for a comfortable life as a collaborator. Instead, he opts to take part in an ill-considered espionage plot, along the way rekindling an old and passionate romance with Citrine, a beautiful actress. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

With uninspired plotting, Furst makes disappointing use of a vividly evoked wartime Paris in his latest WWII espionage novel (The Polish Officer; Dark Star; Night Soldiers). Hedonistic Parisian film producer Jean Casson thrives in Paris's active film industry, enjoying the colorful social scene, the posh restaurants and the beautiful, available women. But this world he knows so well all but disappears when Germans march into France and seize the city. At first, Casson strives merely to survive, but he's soon drawn into duty as an amateur intelligence operative and finds himself in a precarious position, buffeted by British Intelligence, resistance forces and the Gestapo. In the process, Casson discovers two powerful forces within himself?his patriotism and his consuming passion for an old lover, the beautiful actress Citrine. Furst brings this fascinating, historic Paris to life with his usual masterful use of period detail. But while Casson makes an intriguing protagonist, his relationships with other characters are presented rather schematically?in particular, his affair with Citrine, which ultimately proves so influential, is never satisfactorily developed. More importantly, Casson's career as a spy, marked by mixed success on missions that seem insignificant, is anticlimactic and a bit confusing. In the end, the novel never attains the dramatic pitch of Furst's recent The Polish Officer.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence
10 May, 1940. Long before dawn, Wehrmacht commando units came out of the forest on the Belgian border, overran the frontier posts, and killed the customs officers. Read the first page

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	38% buy the item featured on this page: The World at Night: A Novel 3.5 out of 5 stars (13) CDN$ 13.10
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Indeed, not his best., April 27 2004

By	H. Buning "harmgb2" (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

But a worthy effort. I like Mr. Furst's description of
occupied France. >Spoiler< I don't believe Casson's escape from
the Gestapo, and I'm disappointed by his "escape" from the
people trying to get him out of France at the end of the
book. A lot of people put their fictional lives on the line
to get him to England, and he can't stand leaving his
girlfriend. Typical Frenchman, LoL. Sorry, just had to say it.
Again, though, the descriptive writing is first-rate, I think.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing plotting from an over-rated author, Dec 1 2003

By A Customer

The mystifying critical acclaim attending Alan Furst makes more of his efforts than he deserves even at his best, and this is his absolute nadir. His writing is hailed as "cinematic", apparently because the chapters are chopped into short, incoherent set pieces that are clearly meant to be visually evocative, but succeed only in being disjointed and telegraphic. There is no complexity or depth to his characterizations, and he has created a hero so unsympathetic that you wouldn't mind seeing the Nazis catch him. As for his vaunted ablility to evoke war-time Europe, the flat and lifeless descriptions here are particularly disappointing. An intelligent teen-ager with a thesaurus, a map of Paris, and the Michelin green guide could do just as well. Readers interested in evocative pre-war suspense would be better served sticking to novels of the period. Compare Mr. Furst's writing with Eric Ambler's (eg, "Journey into Fear" or "Cause for Alarm"), and decide for yourself.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Furst's Weakest, Oct 21 2003

By	A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Furst's fourth WWII espionage novel is heavy on atmosphere but virtually plotless, and is disappointingly left to be finished in his next book, Red Gold. All his books feature loner male protagonists, and here the subject is Jean Casson, a midrange French film producer. In his early 40s, Casson is a somewhat hedonistic bon vivant, and as life comes to a momentary standstill during the initial weeks of occupation, he struggles to keep himself fed and clothed. One gets the distinct sense that Casson is supposed to be somewhat emblematic of a certain type or even France, rather than a distinctive character unto himself. A somewhat empty womanizing type, without the courage of any convictions, but with expensive tastes, Casson is recruited to help the resistance. It's a third of the way into the book, by the time this happens though, and-unlike in other of Furst's books-the intelligence aspect never picks up any momentum.

As amateur intelligence operation, Casson is mediocre at best, and it's never really clear why he agrees to help. The perhaps reflects a certain aspect of France at the time, the desire to retain honor, but without having to do too much hard work, or put oneself into too dangerous a situation. At the same time his espionage work starts, he rekindles an old relationship that is perhaps his one true love. This never transcends the generic potboiler romance level, and fails to add any depth to what little story there is. As in all of Furst's writing, the book is rich in detail when in comes to occupied Europe, one really gets the vibe of the caf�s, restaurants, and street life in Paris. However, the espionage angle develops rather confusingly and almost randomly, resulting in a rather convoluted anticlimactic finale, which includes a ridiculous escape scene. This weakness is only further exacerbated by the book's abrupt end-why this brief story and Red Gold were split into two books is both annoying a bit of a mystery. The result is that this book is probably the weakest of Furst's espionage oeuvre.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars German Occupation - Vivid Portrait of Paris, 1940
In the carefully researched novels by Alan Furst we encounter men and women facing extraordinary situations, individuals overwhelmed by historical events. Read more

Published on Sep 12 2003 by Michael Wischmeyer

3.0 out of 5 stars Great writing supports a thin story
I recently discovered Alan Furst and consider him one of the best period novelists writing today. I read "Kingdom of Shadows" first, which was excellent, and came to this novel... Read more

Published on April 27 2003 by Michael Coffin

4.0 out of 5 stars "Victor, Please Don't Go to the Underground Meeting Tonight"
Furst's writing is very film aware: As I read THE WORLD AT NIGHT, I felt that I was somewhere in between a prequel to CASABLANCA and one of Marcel Carn�'s 1930s celluloid... Read more

Published on Oct 18 2002 by James Paris

4.0 out of 5 stars The Nightmare Years
I have read several of Furst's novels and they are all very good, particularly in evoking the atmosphere of sheer terror that pervaded Europe between 1933 and 1945 - though he... Read more

Published on Aug 24 2002 by Patrick Brogan