Paul Ricard is a 40 year old French writer of “detective and spy fiction”. In the fall of 1942 in Paris he is knocked down by a fleeing man. As the man recovers and tries to run he is shot. Instinctively, Ricard goes to help him. The dying man gives him a sheet of paper. It is a German “engineering schematic” for a detonator.
Ricard, not a resistante, reaches out through a lover, Romany, to a loyal retired French officer to find a way to contact the Resistance.
At the same time he is working on his next book. Ricard does much of his plotting while he walks the streets of Paris.
His latest book Midnight in Trieste reflects his style:
The cast of characters was the usual in such novels, secret police informants, spies, ruined aristocrats, sinister Balkan types, and, lithe exotic women with shadowy pasts. Traveling with them, the hero, the foreign correspondent Claude Verbain, a committed anti-fascist who smoked little cigars and wore tinted eyeglasses.
As with many who get involved in espionage it does not end with a single participation.
Ricard wants to resist the Occupation but:
With a caustic eye, he looked back at Ricard the writer, who should have kept intrigue confined to paper.
How far can a man go to effectively pretend he is eager to help the enemy while remaining a patriot. A double agent has a challenging life.
In Furst’s previous book, A Hero of France, there is a German SD (Intelligence officer) who performs his duties methodically but without zeal.
In Under Occupation, Major Erhard Geisler, a German SD major is a part of a German effort to take over French cultural life.
Ricard meets the urbane Major von Lobau who decides if a French citizen can be given a pass to go to Germany. He gives Ricard permission. Clearly impressed by Ricard he offers Ricard money if he will report to Von Lobau on what he hears going on in Paris.
While Ricard and Kasia are traveling to Germany their train is attacked by British planes. My usual perspective of such attacks was video from an attacking plane. I had not thought about how terrifying it was to be on a train with bombs bursting about it and the train being strafed.
While slowly writing another spy novel Ricard is drawn deeper and deeper into British schemes.
Ricard, the writer, is carrying out the type of espionage actions about which he writes.
I can see Furst as Ricard living out his imagination.
The ventures become more sophisticated and more dangerous.
Ricard also enjoys reading spy fiction. In the summer of 1943 he is reading, for the third time, A Coffin for Dimirios by Eric Ambler. Furst, in a Reddit string, said it was one of his favourite spy novels.
The premise of the espionage writer who becomes a spy in the same era, World War II, in which he lives and writes is brilliant. If it was not Furst consciously recreating himself as the writer spy Ricard, I would be surprised. I have not been able to find anything online concerning this theory.
The connections between writers and imaginations in Under Occupation are wonderfully intertwined.
As the book neared the conclusion the narrative became somewhat disjointed and was confusing in timing. It felt like the ending had been written in some haste and lacks the polish of Furst’s earlier books and the first part of this book.
Overall it felt like Under Occupation was the final book in the Night Soldiers series. It was published in 2019 and there has not been another. Furst has not published any books since 2019.
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ReplyDeleteThat is a fascinating premise, Bill, to have a write of espionage stories end up working in espionage. And it's interesting to have a mention of A Coffin For Demetrios in the novel, too; that's another novel with a strong premise. It sounds as though there's a strong sense of tension and suspense (still thinking about that train ride you mentioned). You make a well-taken point about an ending that feels a bit rushed. I've read books like that and it's a reminder to take one's time writing the right ending for a story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Margot. After writing the post I looked at several other reviews and I was not alone in being disappointed. I would like to know what happened to Furst in writing the ending.
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