Furst, Alan. World at Night. Random House, 1996.
Reason read: Furst was born in February. Read in his honor.
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.
As an aside, when Casson had to turn in his automobile I needed to look up the Simca 302. I found it is a sexy looking car. Perfect for Casson. Then there was the German Horch 853. Can you imagine that thing bombing down the road today? What about the Citroen Traction Avant?
Another aside, did Furst name his book after Christopher Isherwood’s The World in the Evening?
Line I loved, “It was like being hugged by a wine-soaked onion” (p 161).
Author fact: Furst has been compared to Graham Greene, John le Carre, Somerset Maugham, Flaubert, and Balzac.
Book trivia: my copy of World at Night included a segment on the research Furst conducted to write an accurate account of Paris during the early stages of World War II. It also included a list of suggested reading. I found it curious that even though I am reading some of the same authors Furst recommended (Isherwood and Gilbert), I am not reading the exact titles.
Setlist: Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, Beethoven, “Begin the Beguine” (as an aside, I can remember my father telling me this was my grandmother’s favorite song), “Body and Soul”. Johnny Hess, “Marseillaise”, “Mood Indigo”, Stephane Grappelli, and “Time on My Hands”.
Nancy said: Pearl describes the plot better than some reviews I have read.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “We’ll Always Have Paris” (p 255).
~*LunaSea*~ 