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Post by Jazz on May 3, 2009 10:50:49 GMT
To this moment, I like The World at Night the best of the four that I've read. Casimira, I read the Polish Officer (very good) and Foreign Correspondent (also very good)...although it was more predictable. I was drawn to it because so much of it was set in Paris. Also, much of his writing takes place in eastern Paris, in a time long before the beginnings of gentrification. I like this area and am convinced that the Heininger Brasserie close to the Bastille is Bofinger. What next, I don't know, but I love that there are still more to immmerse myself in. We have a good inter-library loan system here, so no more buying! (unless I find another great one that must be in my library)
bjd, the sepia photos on the four books that I have are by a great photographer of Paris of the 30's, Brassai.
Baz, Kerouac and bjd know far more than I do about the accuracy of his research of this period in Parisien history. But, it just seems so good and so detailed. I would welcome any suggestions for good fiction that is essentially set in eastern Paris. I loved Zola's L'Assommoir which takes place in about an 6 block radius in the La Goutte d'Or. (would like to read in any period)
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2009 11:48:04 GMT
Am more than half way through Dark Star. This one is good but so much more complex. The spy network and all the operatives,gets confusing at times. Not a struggle to read,just need to stay really alert to the different characters with different names and many,many locations. Again,his descriptions of Paris and in this one Berlin and other major cities @ 1938 are so amazing.
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Post by bjd on May 12, 2009 9:59:33 GMT
HIs latest book - The Spies of Warsaw -- just came out in paperback so I ordered it and received it the other day. It's the next book I'll be reading.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2009 1:43:40 GMT
bjd,just checked Spies of Warsaw out of library. I keep saying this is my last one...problem is the library here has such a poor selection,only 12 of the 22 or so Furst has written. Was lucky to have found this one.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 14, 2009 2:14:59 GMT
Casimira ~~ have you asked the librarian to request the others from the Parish Library system?
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2009 2:59:36 GMT
I don't know if I'm going to read them ALL,but that's a good idea if that system still exists,alot of those services haven't come back since Katrina.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 0:11:02 GMT
Finished Dark Star,was a long read,very intense and many,many characters woven in and out,there's even a diagram of the OPAL spy network that I had to keep referring back to(code names,locations,whatnot)and that was only the main network. Still, he remains a brilliant writer and I love his style and am on to Spies of Warsaw,I believe his latest(I think bjd mentioned,correct?).
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Post by bjd on May 20, 2009 14:46:01 GMT
Yes, I did. I finished it the other day. More suspenseful than some -- I kept expecting something to happen. It was much better than The Foreign Correspondent, which I found the least good.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2009 23:38:59 GMT
I just read in the local weekly here that Mr. Furst is coming to New Orleans for a reading and signing , Spies of Warsaw(just out in PB,)at one of my favorite bookstores on 6/16!
I too, enjoyed it far more than the Foreign Correspondent.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2009 1:10:08 GMT
Went to Mr. Furst's reading this evening at a local bookstore. About two dozen people attended. He told a few stories,fascinating tales about DeGaulle and then read several passages from The Spies of Warsaw. I liked him in person quite a lot. Funny,very intense eyes,not too animated.He spoke of this book being the esoteric tome of the lot,every author's dream and dread. He answered several questions,said his sources were all secondary because with all the primary sources available to him he could not justify not using them all. After someone tells their tale of crossing the border,being cautioned to surrender etc.,for him to not end up using it would be the ultimate insult. He cited British author Anthony Powell (recently deceased at age 94) as his mentor with regards to how to write about salon conversations and manners. He is at work on a new book(says he births one every 2 years) set in Greece. Due out in 6/10. Currently resides down the road from my birth home in N.Y. Was raised on the Upper West Side of NYC. I almost didn't go because I thought there would be way too many people and was pleasantly surprised.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2009 1:18:25 GMT
What a treat! He sounds genuinely interesting. Were you able to have any conversation with him?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2009 1:29:44 GMT
Just briefly,thanked him , and then mentioned a couple of haunts up in NY and he asked me if I had occassion to ever meet Spalding Gray whom I knew peripherally. They were good friends. If you live in that small village year round you really do know everyone in some fashion,either from the post office or market etc. Has it's plusses and minuses.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2009 10:40:08 GMT
I was able to find a copy of Red Gold while on holiday. This is the only Furst that I haven't read as it was for some reason difficult to find. I've only just begun reading, but once again, I am swept up in the characters and am so impressed with his attention to detail. Set in Paris ,as are most but not all his novels,the descriptions of the different arondissements can't help but transport you into that era in history and what life in Paris was like for the residents living there during WW2. One of the characters goes into a little rant about Haussmann and I had to chuckle to myself being more familiar with the city because of K2's numerous threads on the city. I could actually visualize it because of my vast new found knowledge of the city .
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Post by bazfaz on Oct 3, 2009 11:35:02 GMT
It's too bad Furst's book set in Greece won't be out until the middle of next year. We are going to Greece (Crete, really) for nearly six weeks this winter.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2009 1:23:00 GMT
Something to look forward to after you return. The setting will be fresh in your mind to savor all the more. I do look forward to it very much and thank you again for introducing me to Mr. Furst.
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Post by bjd on Oct 21, 2009 11:39:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2009 11:41:51 GMT
Thank you so much.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2010 1:53:00 GMT
New June 15, Spies of the Balkans,(Greece 1940),I am so psyched!!! This will be my beach reading book for Miami,of course I'll devour it in a day knowing me.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2010 2:01:23 GMT
All you Furst fans out there,the new novel is positively fabulous and exceeds all my expectations.
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Post by bazfaz on Jun 25, 2010 7:01:27 GMT
I have just read the reviews on amazon.uk. Two were as full of praise as you are, one was a little hesitant about a certain lack of characterisation particularly with the beautiful wife that Zannis has an affair with. But to me it sounds another wonderful Furst treat.
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Post by bjd on Jun 25, 2010 7:33:21 GMT
I had a look at the reviews as well. But I'm still waiting for the paperback edition. I can't justify spending 20€ for a detective story.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2010 20:07:23 GMT
I have just read the reviews on amazon.uk. Two were as full of praise as you are, one was a little hesitant about a certain lack of characterisation particularly with the beautiful wife that Zannis has an affair with. But to me it sounds another wonderful Furst treat. It is Baz,and I'm so grateful for you turning me onto...I think that with your recent travel/holiday in that region you will particularly enjoy. His attention to detail of both period and place is so well researched and he gives the reader a close glimpse of life in the Balkans. I wish it was longer...only 268 pages... BJD, I am such a rabid Furst fan that I could not wait until what will probably be next year for the paperback to come out. I indulge myself with hours of pleasure and don't mind spending the money for a really, really good read. And,I will pass on to friends,so, more pleasure all the way around.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 17:17:20 GMT
HIs latest book - The Spies of Warsaw -- just came out in paperback so I ordered it and received it the other day. It's the next book I'll be reading. I wasn't sure whether or not to post this in Small Screen Viewing, and may do both, but, I discovered that a BBC production was made of Furst's Spies of [/b]Warsaw starring David Tenannt. Am on Episode 3 at present, and is well done. nothing though, can really capture Furst's prose. I think that BJD would enjoy the location shots of both Warsaw and Paris.
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Post by bjd on Mar 14, 2015 18:32:14 GMT
I think the Warsaw shots must be studio sets since the city was 90% destroyed during WW2. It would be interesting to see the shows though, although I tend to be disappointed with films made of books I have read.
Actually, I didn't buy the latest book -- all the reviews I read said Furst was just going through the motions and that it wasn't very good.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 22, 2015 12:45:03 GMT
I haven't read a book in ages. I used to do a couple of pages at a lunch venue - just on my own, just chilling. Seriously starting that again.
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