Kingdom of Shadows
By Alan Furst
Random House, $24.95
ISBN 0375503374

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The further we recede in time from World War II, the more we realize what a marvelous setting that conflict is for any artist trying to depict the human condition. Alan Furst's new thriller, Kingdom of Shadows, is set in pre-war Paris, a city that spends its days and nights watching the gathering storm.

One of the city's more intriguing residents is Nicholas Morath, an expatriate Hungarian aristocrat who makes his living as part owner of an advertising agency. He lives well in the most romantic city on the planet; he has a beautiful young Argentinean mistress, he eats and drinks in smoky clubs that play American jazz, he associates with rich, sophisticated people like himself. He is also a spy. His uncle, Count Janos Polanyi, is dedicated to stopping, in whatever small way he can, the march of the madman in Berlin, and he uses his nephew to do small "chores" for him. Like the mythical heroes of old, Morath is given one mission after another, each more dangerous than the last.

Alan Furst's novels have been compared to the works of John Le Carre, and Kingdom of Shadows clearly demonstrates why. Great events in our lives are shaped by little things, and like Le Carre, Furst excels in the small details. On a trip to a client, Morath visits a men's clothier; the chain-smoking female proprietor is revealed to be a once beautiful woman of Budapest society -- who also happens to be his contact, with intelligence information for his uncle. It is through this off-hand revelation that we learn Morath's true occupation, and many other aspects of the plot are presented in the same subtle way.

Morath himself remains an enigma. While on one hand projecting an air of bored indifference, he does his uncle's bidding without complaint. He is a survivor, a soldier and a man capable of taking a human life if the situation warrants. And yet, though we find out so much about him through his friends, his enemies and the women he loves, Morath is still swathed in mystery at book's end.

Kingdom of Shadows evokes a black and white movie feeling; Furst paints the motivations and emotions of his characters in shades of gray. This is a beautifully written, literate thriller, perfect for a gray winter's afternoon curled up by the fire.

James Neal Webb dreams of going to Paris some day.