Night Soldiers: A Novel

The book was in excellent condition. The story is well written - good spy material - but have not finished it yet.

Prior to reading this, I read Furst's 'Dark Star' and 'Foreign Correspondent'. This is the first one I was able to put down (after reading 100 to 150 pages or so). I have yet to pick it up again. Perhaps it is due to my mood, or because far more important things are going on in my life. If it had been really compelling, however, I am sure I would have finished it weeks ago.

As an espionage writer, Furst excels at capturing characters' emotions, and the atmosphere in which they are acting. As the action progresses from country to country, and year to year (1934-1945), each milieu has its own distinctive personality, geography and history. The overall theme is the protagonist's attempt to maintain his integrity in a world gone mad. There is a certain amount of contrivance in the plot, but the reader does not mind. Faye Berns was a fine secondary character, as was Sascha. Having read other Furst novels I was already familiar with the insanity of the Russian spy system and Stalin's government; I found the take on pre-WWII political life in a small village in Bulgaria especially enlightening.

This is not just a great spy novel, but a great novel, period. The reader follows Khristo Stoianev on his odyssey through his recruitment by the NKVD, his work for the Soviets in the Spanish Civil War, fighting alongside the French resistance in WWII, and much more. Furst pays great attention to period detail and backs that up with great writing. I was especially impressed by his knowledge of NKVD tradecraft in the 1930's.

Furst is one of those writers who makes every passage worth savoring. The prosaic descriptions of the minor events make this a great read. The fascinating subject matter of the eastern european perspective on the period leading up to, and during world war II make for a great story. We're carried through an extraorinary range of experiences in this book, but it never feels implausible.