We begin The World at Night on the 10th of May in 1940 before dawn. Jean-Claude Casson, film producer of forty-two years of age, is in bed with his assistant, Gabriella Vico. The phone rings...it's Casson's wife. Marie-Claire wants to talk about the dinner party she and Jean-Claude are throwing that night. Does this not sound like the start to a torrid romance novel? Far from it (although there is passion within the pages)! By the end of the first chapter Casson has received a telegram recalling him back to active duty. The Germans are on the move and will occupy France shortly. Without warning Corporal Casson is pulled into a completely different life and, after three months when he returns home to Paris, the old life he left behind has completely vanished. As a movie producer he needs a way to stay useful in the eyes of the enemy. What can he do to earn a living during the German occupation? Somehow, in some way, this line of work makes him the perfect recruit for espionage. The only convincing he would need would be political. Which side are you on, boy? This question becomes pertinent when a simple lie traps Jean-Claude. He realizes no one is one hundred percent evil or one hundred percent good which makes the danger all that more a stark reality. You don't know of whom you should stay clear or who you can trust.
If you are looking for a spy thriller with lots of violence, The World at Night is not for you. The dangers are subtle and barely suggested. Instead, Furst is a master of detail. From fashion and the automobiles to the food and drink and music, the culture of Paris lives and breathes alongside its society. Furst's imagery is perfection: what do you picture when he describes a young woman as having "hen-strangler hands"? Furst takes you into 1940s Paris with love. A commentary on authenticity. I believe authenticity comes from the ability to faithfully mimic primary sources; the ability to take first-hand accounts and recreate them exactly. Once you see faithful details repeated you assume a truthful interpretation. Such is The World at Night.
Speaking of characters and love, I could not help but fall in love with Jean-Claude Casson. His mature passion for beautiful women and the way he makes each one feel as though she were the only one in his life...sigh. When he finally settles on one particular woman you root for them to be together. ( )

I wasn't in love with this - maybe it was a little too subtle for my tastes in spy fiction. The setting of occupied Paris was very convincingly evoked, but it isn't a setting in which I'm desperately interested, so I don't feel like I'm the target audience. But it felt believable and was well-crafted. I would pick others by Furst off a shelf, but would not actively seek them out.
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Pretty good, it slow for a while. Probably not his best effort, but the recreation of Occupied Paris and the Parisian mindset as the German Occupation begins to settle in is excellent. ( )

Atmospheric spy novel set in Paris in early 1941 after the Nazi invasion with a "spy" who seems to fall into the role by happenstance. He seems to fulfill the French stereotype. Will read sequel. ( )

This could almost be titled, almost anyone can do it, or anyone can be drawn into this game, even at the double agent level. I knew this premise even before I read the book. Yet I came to it skeptical. Could anyone become a double agent? Doesn't that take more planning, motivation, training, chutzpah?

But Furst draws us in. For the first hundred pages of this short book (257pp) there's not even a whiff of spies or espionage. Instead we learn about a somewhat successful film producer who enjoys living the good life in Paris before the world goes into its second crazy war. But it starts and even though he briefly gets mobilized with his old unit from the first war France is quickly defeated by the hated Bosch. Even though they take his and everyone else's car he can still find ways to make a film. He's briefly contacted by British intelligence to do something small. They explain they sought him out because his profession allowed him to travel widely without much question. So he takes on a small request and he quickly learns it may be simple but it's still dangerous so he decides basically enough of that, I can just ride out this war by keeping out of it. But not so fast. The Germans know he was contacted by a woman they know is working for the British. He's able to convince them he was asked but didn't accept. But the Germans say we want you to accept, just tell us what they want you do. Now he's in a bind. Does he want to work with the Germans who have conquered his country? Thus the everyman becomes a double agent. He didn't ask for it, they found him.

Now we know anybody could be caught in this web. No special talents needed. In addition to watching our hero get drawn in there's lots of graphic romantic interludes to keep the story going. There's even a love story buried here to keep us wondering, do they finally get together? Read it to find out how it turns out. ( )