The nations of Eastern Europe were not in an enviable position, having Hitler on one side and Stalin on the other. But unlike Rostov, he has made his life's work to struggle against Hitler and protect Hungarian Jews, rather than trying to outwit a hairdresser and headwaiter.ġ933-1939 was an exciting, if harrowing, time to be a European diplomat. Like Towles' Count Rostov, he is charming, sophisticated and has lots of friends. Consider as an alternative Furst's hero Count Nicolas Morath, a Hungarian diplomat living in Paris in the 1930's. Hughes, The.Amor Towles' hugely popular A Gentleman in Moscow did not impress me much, given its disdain for history. It's hard to overestimate Kingdom of Shadows."-Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times "A triumph: evocative, heartfelt, knowing and witty."-Robert J. "-Janet Maslin, The New York Times "Subtly spun, sensitive to nuances, generous with contemporary detail and i nformation discreetly conveyed. Praise for Kingdom of Shadows "Kingdom of Shadows offers a realm of glamour and peril that are seamlessly intertwined and seem to arise effortlessly from the author's consciousness. Alan Furst is frequently compared with Eric Ambler, Graham Greene, and John le Carré, but Kingdom of Shadows is distinctive and entirely original. The we b Polanyi spins for Morath is deep and complex and pits him against German intelligence officers, NKVD renegades, and Croat assassins in a shadow war of treachery and uncertain loyalties, a war that Hungary cannot afford to l ose. It is Mor ath who does Polanyi's clandestine work, moving between the beach cafés of Juan-les-Pins and the forests of Ruthenia, from Czech fortresses in the Sud etenland to the private gardens of the déclassé royalty in Budapest.
But Morath has been recruited by his uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, a diplomat in the Hungarian legation, for operations against Hitler's Germany.
As Europe edges toward war, Nicholas Morath, an urbane former cavalry officer, spends his days working at the small advertising agency he owns and his nights in the bohemian circles of his Argentine mistress. "Kingdom of Shadows must be called a spy novel, but it transcends genre, as did some Graham Greene and Eric Ambler classics."-The Washington Post Paris, 1938.
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