• The World at Night

  • Jean Casson Series
  • By: Alan Furst
  • Narrated by: George Guidall
  • Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (606 ratings)

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The World at Night  By  cover art

The World at Night

By: Alan Furst
Narrated by: George Guidall
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Publisher's summary

The World at Night is an edge-of-your-seat World War II tale of intrigue and espionage, set in the shadowy back streets and glittering salons of occupied Paris. Film producer Jean Casson, a Paris sophisticate, struggles to come to terms with the uncomfortable realities of life under German occupation, as he becomes caught up in the initial actions of what was to become the French Resistance.

©2007 Alan Furst (P)2012 Recorded Books

What listeners say about The World at Night

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A solid Furst novel, just not a great one

Furst's fourth Night Soldiers' novel switches narrators to Jean Casson, a French movie producer. He is a reluctant hero who is drawn into the secret war against the Nazi occupiers of France.

With 'The World at Night', Furst is able to again relate the way WWII impacted typical Europeans in ways that most fiction and nonfiction writers who focus on Europe's second world war seem to often miss or overlook.

A solid Furst novel, just not a great one. But take that with a grain of salt. Minor Furst novels (like le Carre) are often miles better than 9/10 of the historical spy fiction out there

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

sloooow

While the story was interesting enough from a historical perspective, the pacing was so slow it bordered on boring. At the end, I'm not sure there was a point at all. I'm trying another of Furst's books and it is also very slow-paced.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story. Terrible ending!

Any additional comments?

Alan Furst is brilliant putting the listener into this era and really bringing Paris alive and making you feel like you are in Paris. What a wonderful book but what a terrible ending. Did Furst suddenly have a bus to catch? It made no sense yet the rest of the book made perfect sense. I will give Furst the benefit of the doubt and perhaps the publisher made him change the ending!
George Guidall is yet again amazing because if I hadn't been listening to him tell the story I would have never finished this book if I had been reading it.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable !!!!

No writer can -like Alan Furst- describe the unique atmosphere of France during the second world war and create characters that are complex, credible and engaging. This book is more than just a spy story: is about the second world war, about Paris , about adventure with a zest of romantics . The plot itself is not particularly surprising nor breathless, but the pleasure of reading is intact till the very end.
Geoge Guidall does a fabulous job (and his French pretty good)

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Solid but a little slow

World War II, occupied Paris.

A film director navigates through twisting allegiances and desirable damsels to locate a path to survival.

Not great. Not bad.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nicely paced and emotional sound

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The story is one of gentle underground activity in Nazi-run France and most of the action is quiet, subtle and plausible. But the deeds get done! No streets full of gun fights. No long descriptions of torture. Clever disguises and the use of people believing what they see rather than asking could this be real, and then it is too late.

What other book might you compare The World at Night to and why?

The Man Who Never Was

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

Gentle and creative reading. No unnecessary drama.

Any additional comments?

A different twist on too many second world war undercover stories.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well done!

Written during the early days of the German occupation of France, the World of Night is told with heart and authenticity. Mr. Guidall, the narrator, brings both to this wonderful performance. The main character, Jean Claude Casson, is an "ordinary hero", a film director, a gentle lover of his country and his city, Paris. As one of his characters says, "Jean C;laude, you are loved by everyone." As he is unwillingly drawn deep into a struggle for survival and resistance I grew to love him too.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Furst maintains the sense of reality

The characters seem more real because of their uncertainty. A good addition to his cannon.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great feel to the story, enjoyed

I really like George Guidall narrating, so that made this an easier choice. I usually pick police procedurals, but have to say, i enjoyed the feel of this story. You really got a sense for how casson loves his country and hurts for what it's going thru. Good characters and story. I quite liked. In fact, it lead me to get book 2, which i did not enjoy as much, but still, i'm not sorry i got to meet this author and his characters.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow Start but improves

Interesting. The lifestyle of the French apart from the war is different than what I knew and was a learning opportunity in itself. So much of the war is well documented from prior sources but not from the prospective of the occupied French people. It takes awhile to know the characters and for the story to get rolling but eventually it gets hard to put down..

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2 people found this helpful