Midnight in Europe

I am so far behind in posting my book blogs that none of these recent ones are in chronological order. This novel by Alan Furst, an author called by Vince Flynn "the most talented espionage novelist of our generation," and lauded by the NYT as "America's  preeminent spy novelist," is set during the run-up to WWII as Spain tears itself apart in a civil war. A lawyer for a well-respected law firm in Paris with offices in New York City, Christian Ferrar, is himself a refugee from Spain along with his family. So when he is approached by someone from the Spanish embassy in Paris to aid the Spanish Republic in procuring weapons to fight Franco's Fascists, he barely hesitates. He knows that if the nationalists win and the Nazi expansion continues, his new home in Paris will no longer be safe. With the silent blessing of his law firm he works  legal and not so legal avenues to funnel weapons into Spain from any country who will help the opponents of Franco. The characters in this novel (and apparently in Furst's novel generally) are not super-heroes, but ordinary people responding to extraordinary times, and I learned a some about this particular convulsion in a Europe on the eve of world war. However, it felt oddly as though there was no real  conclusion....realistic, perhaps, but a bit anti-climactic. In spite of all efforts, Franco's forces won and Ferrar moved his family to New York. I might read more of Furst's books just because I enjoy this genre (espionage and historical novels) as well as the quality of his writing, characterization and settings. He excels at evoking the unspoken tension and paranoia that gripped Europe during Hitler's rise to power. A balanced review from the New York Times elucidates this particular book's strengths and weaknesses. Also a good brief review from Kirkus, and the reviewer at the Boston Globe says he has read every one of Furst's novels twice!