Kingdom of Shadows
by Alan Furst
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alan FurstEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-10-09
ISBN: 0375758267
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Kingdom of Shadows
Book Review: A Great Escape
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book simply because my husband -- no big reader of novels -- insisted I would like it. HE enjoyed it because of the setting, because of the way it transported him into a completely different time and place and because, he said, the characters were so well-drawn. But it also made him want to learn more about what life was like for the peoples of Eastern Europe during the time.Flying back from London last year, I'd read straight through a biography of Madeleine Albright, SEASONS OF HER LIFE, the first half of which is spent describing the plight Albright's family faced in Czechoslovakia. I dug out the book for my husband and he agreed it is in many ways a great companion piece to KINGDOM OF SHADOWS.
KINGDOM is in some respects something of a LeCarre, but to my way of thinking, better. You feel the mood, the very atmosphere of the settings. The many characters are deftly drawn. The secret of any work densely populated with a cast of characters who come and go, appear and disappear only to reappear later, is to assign to them behaviors, looks, habits that make them memorable to the reader.
In KINGDOM, there are many such characters but because Furst has so cleverly drawn them, you remember them.
However, more importantly, the author follows the first and single most important secret of ANY piece of writing: to make us CARE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS. Furst does this from the get-go.
Ultimately, this -- like Bridges of Madison County -- is a romance novel written from a male point of view. Therefore, you have to be willing to go along with the male fantasy of a relationship we step into at the outset. Fortunately and redemptively, the main character changes significantly in his tastes over time. By the end, what woman in her right mind could resist him?
It's a great read for travel, a terrific escape when you're stuck in the doldrums, and an opportunity to learn things you probably never knew about conditions in Eastern Europe on the brink of WWII. enjoy.
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