Book Review: "The Spies of Warsaw" by Alan Furst

Before heading off on vacation in June, I stopped at the library and checked out three books. I had planned on finding only two, figuring that with all the other fun vacation-y things I had planned, I probably would only even make it through one. At first I struggled. I'm not used to the new layout of the Covington library, yet, and I couldn't find anything I was looking for. I had been hoping to walk in and see a "New Releases" section with fun and enticing cover art declaring their perfection to me, like at a bookstore. I didn't find that.

I resorted to the book list I keep on my phone for just such occasions. Out of all the books though, I couldn't find any that seemed like good "vacation books" or were actually on the shelves. I searched around for the computers to access the catalog (hidden in plain sight), figured out how to log in for a 60 minute session and started looking up all the books I wasn't able to find on the shelves myself. They were all either checked out or at a different branch. I really wasn't in the mood for a scavenger hunt, I just wanted to get some delightful books and be on my way. I went online to my favorite Vermont bookstore to see if their website listed any fun new releases, unsuccessfully. Finally I got the brilliant idea to go to my Amazon wishlist and search for some of those. I instantly recalled that I had heard great things about the author Alan Furst, and I thought I enjoyed his book, Istanbul Passage, which I read last summer. (Turns out Istanbul Passage is not actually written by Alan Furst, but Joseph Kanon, so I'm not sure what I was thinking.) Regardless, I wrote Alan Furst on a slip of paper and continued the search for my second book. I searched for a few that were already checked out before finding that Love, Life and Elephants, by Dame Daphne Sheldrick, was available. I added this to my wishlist a long time ago but have always really wanted to read it. Then, riding the wave of success, I decided to look for a third book - because hey! this is the library and its free! So there! I quickly decided on The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker. I went searching the shelves and found three books that I was really excited to read. Now that you know all that, I can tell you about them.

The Spies of Warsaw: Alan Furst
I always feel a little guilty when I'm reading a book purely for fun, especially historical fiction. But I just can't help myself. Like watching a delightfully bad movie or taking an afternoon nap on a sunny day, sometimes I just have to allow my brain to shut down and indulge in some fun. I thought this was that book, and while it did serve that purpose, I can't stop thinking about how good it was.

I started it first, eager to give my mind an instant vacation, even before we left.  Initially it lived up to my expectations, starting right off the bat with some sexy spy scenes. Don't let this scare you. Compared to James Bond the spies of Warsaw didn't see much action, and in the end these first few scenes turn out to be important to the plot.

Set in Warsaw, Poland, just before the beginning of World War II, it's like we, as readers, have our own spy inside of the French Embassy. Colonel Mercier, whose actions we follow and decipher to put the pieces of the plot together. Tensions arise when we get glimpses from the other side, the German side. We're given slightly more information than Mercier has - just enough to know how dangerous things are becoming. As Mercier pieces things together for us we get to travel around a bit. His quick travels around Europe serve as a reminder just how small and close Europe is; how disruptive borders and blockades were. How every aspect of every person's life would be affected by the war.

It comes as no surprise (well, I wasn't surprised) that Germany is planning to invade not only Poland, but France too. Hindsight  necessarily informs our reading of this book: we know what happens. This book helps us understand the tensions of Europe in the late thirties, and how anyone could have been surprised by what happens next. This, I think, is an important function of historical fiction. When we are taught the history of World War I and World War II, it all seems so logical. Of course the winners of The Great War would put sanctions on Germany. Of course that would cripple the German economy and demoralize the German people. Obviously that leaves a vacuum to be filled. Naturally, the one who fills it will be a maniac. To our twenty-first century sensibilities this is the way of the world!

The Spies of Warsaw reminds us of the perspective of a people still recovering from the shock of The Great War; totally bewildered by the rise of evil, and unable to predict what might result from such an unstable world. It reminds us of the devastating consequences of hubris on any level, personal or systemic.

Spies are fun. The thirties were romantic. An arms race in Eastern Europe is relevant. Alan Furst might be my new favorite author.