Literary Birthday – 20 February – Alan Furst

Alan Furst Quotes

1. Once you have your characters, they tell you what to write, you don’t tell them.
2. If you can live in Paris, maybe you should.
3. I don’t really write plots. I use history as the engine that drives everything.
4. You write a lot of books; you hope you get better.
5. I write in a 1937 garage on my property in Sag Harbor, I installed an old brick floor and had the doors replaced with old wooden boards. There are French doors out to an old brick terrace with a garden. I write on a Lexus Wheelwriter, a descendant of the magnificent and much missed IBM Selectric.
6. If you’re a writer, you’re always working.
7. One is what one has the nerve to pretend to be.
8. Politicians were like talking dogs in a circus: the fact that they existed was uncommonly interesting, but no sane person would actually believe what they said.
9. I invented the historical spy novel.

Alan Furst is an American author of bestselling historical spy novels. He is best known for the Night Soldiers series of novels, which have been translated into 18 languages. He is the author of A Hero of France, Midnight in Europe, and Mission to Paris. He writes about Eastern European peoples and places during the period from 1933 to 1944. According to EBSCOE:  ‘His work stands out for its atmospheric storytelling and detailed historical context, making his novels resonate with readers who appreciate both suspense and the exploration of human experiences in the shadow of conflict.’ He was awarded a Fulbright teaching fellowship in 1969. He moved to France, and taught at the University of Montpellier. He later lived for many years in Paris, a city that features in his novels, and one that he calls “the heart of civilisation”.

Source for image: Facebook Page

by Amanda Patterson

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