Read, White and Blue

Yesterday I finished my first Alan Furst novel, Night Soldiers. I selected this author based on the recommendations of two trusted sources (The Rap Sheet being the top of that list) and I wasn't disappointed.

Night Soldiers is an excellent historical drama about the spy world during the Second World War. If you are a spy junkie, this is definitely right up your power alley. This story was well researched and contained lots of interesting details.

Still, even with the juicy details about weapons, geography, radios et all, I found this read to be tough sledding at times. I also recently read Alone In Berlin which is similar in many ways. In both books people are trying there level best to avoid getting caught by the police/secret police in fascist/totalitarian countries, and in both books numerous lives are broken and destroyed for no reason at all.

At one point yesterday, ironically - July 4th, I got to thinking about how lucky I feel living in a place where the law is respected (more or less). But, I also got to thinking about how I have it pretty well here, so that for the most part, all my troubles are self-inflicted. But I got to wondering about people who live in this country and feel more like their "lives are broken for sport", as opposed to my feeling of "Equal Justice Under Law". As a citizen of the planet, what are my responsibilities with regard to people who aren't as fortunate as I am?

Back to the book. I read in the afterword about Mr. Furst and all of his novels. I have another one on the shelf, Dark Star, I believe, but I don't know that I will be venturing there straight away. I think I need a break from the secret police for awhile...