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City Of Thieves (Paperback)

by David Benioff (Author) " ..." (more)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Plume; Reprint edition (Mar 31 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0452295297
ISBN-13: 978-0452295292
Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.5 x 1.8 cm
Shipping Weight: 205 g

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #2,053 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories:
#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Political
#57 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

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Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Author and screenwriter Benioff follows up The 25th Hour with this hard-to-put-down novel based on his grandfather's stories about surviving WWII in Russia. Having elected to stay in Leningrad during the siege, 17-year-old Lev Beniov is caught looting a German paratrooper's corpse. The penalty for this infraction (and many others) is execution. But when Colonel Grechko confronts Lev and Kolya, a Russian army deserter also facing execution, he spares them on the condition that they acquire a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's wedding cake. Their mission exposes them to the most ghoulish acts of the starved populace and takes them behind enemy lines to the Russian countryside. There, Lev and Kolya take on an even more daring objective: to kill the commander of the local occupying German forces. A wry and sympathetic observer of the devastation around him, Lev is an engaging and self-deprecating narrator who finds unexpected reserves of courage at the crucial moment and forms an unlikely friendship with Kolya, a flamboyant ladies' man who is coolly reckless in the face of danger. Benioff blends tense adventure, a bittersweet coming-of-age and an oddly touching buddy narrative to craft a smart crowd-pleaser. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

A writer visits his retired grandparents in Florida to document their experience during the infamous siege of Leningrad. His grandmother won't talk about it, but his grandfather reluctantly consents. The result is the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds. Lev Beniov considers himself "built for deprivation." He's small, smart, and insecure, a Jewish virgin too young for the army, who spends his nights working as a volunteer firefighter with friends from his building. When a dead German paratrooper lands in his street, Lev is caught looting the body and dragged to jail, fearing for his life. He shares his cell with the charismatic and grandiose Kolya, a handsome young soldier arrested on desertion charges. Instead of the standard bullet in the back of the head, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful colonel to use in his daughter's wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt to find the impossible. A search that takes them through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and the devastated surrounding countryside creates an unlikely bond between this earnest, lust-filled teenager and an endearing lothario with the gifts of a conman. Set within the monumental events of history, City of Thieves is an intimate coming-of-age tale with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

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3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Good balance of comedy and tragedy, Nov 12 2009

By	Karoline - See all my reviews

This book has all the makings of a coming of age historical foreign movie (makes sense, the author is also a screenwriter). I can actually picture the movie in my head and watching it. It's something I would watch. It's both funny yet certain parts remind me of the horrors of war still thriving within the city. The story is told in the point of view of Lev who's young and stays behind while his mother and sister move away from the city. His father, is most likely dead, as he gets arrested and is never seen again. When he meets Kolya, the charming deserter who seems to have a tale for everything and has to say something every waking moment, they make a comical duo. Lev is very surly at first and is annoyed frequently by Kolya, who doesn't really care what he thinks of him and keeps on going with his little quirks and stories of his various romantic conquests and how he hasn't gone to the bathroom in a very long time.

I liked this book because of its' interesting mix of comedy and drama set in a rather serious and sombre setting. Come to think of it, I haven't even read a book set in World War II where there is comedy in it. In fact I think it's quite a rarity, yet this kind of rarity, and written and executed well, makes it a rare gem. I have to admit, I liked Kolya from the start. You could tell he was the comic relief of the duo here. He provided the light hearted side of the story and actually had very funny and interesting things to say. It was hard to like Lev. I don't know what to make of him. Surly, hard to like, easily angered (really all the makings of an angsty teenager) although on the other hand, he knew how to survive on the streets which had made him mature faster while Kolya was more of the child of this twosome. However towards the end of the book where Lev actually does grow up both mentally and physically, I started to rather respect him more as his character developed.

As you read through their journey, you start to see their relationship develop and it becomes even brotherly, as Lev asks Kolya for some tips when it comes to romancing the ladies (and other "sports"). Although Lev sort of begrudgingly and even is embarassed by asking him, Kolya acts like a father figure, an elder brother, and a personal friend to Lev (although sometimes it's more like an annoying friend you never asked for) which makes the relationship funny, but also at the same time, very personal because of the various events they went through both life threatening and yet comical. Believe me, those comical parts actually had me laughing out loud at times, the dramatic parts are just that and there's a good balance between the two so you won't be bored reading this novel.

The things I didn't like about this book? well for starters, there were some very graphic and gruesome parts that aren't for the squeamish and some parts even made me squirm uncomfortably. Lev rather annoyed me because he wouldn't stop thinking as how Vika would look naked (and those moments increased towards the end of the book) it got annoying and stagnant. One other criticism, what happened to Kolya was rather predictable in the end. I figured that out at least before halfway of the novel. (Which is why I said it had all the makings of a great foreign movie).

Despite these faults, I enjoyed reading the book and following these two on their dangerous journey to find eggs. The whole finding eggs bit does make it comical but on the other hand it's mixed so well with the horrors of war that you're left being reminded that it's still there, but that it's okay to sometimes laugh once in a while even when the situation is very bleak. Besides, you have nothing to lose when you're starving, and you're always reminded of death everywhere you turn. Overall a good read if you can get past the graphic parts.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Just right., Sep 12 2008

By	Samantha "Critical Reader" (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: City Of Thieves (Hardcover)

The story of two unlikely friends trying to survive during the Siege of Leningrad, it is creative and wildly entertaining while illuminating the horrors of a part of WWII that I knew little about. Benioff writes with the heart of a poet and produces a great tale.

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