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City of Thieves: A Novel By David Benioff ( Viking Adult )
Release Date: 2008-05-15
Average Customer Rating:
List Price: $24.95
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Product Description
As wise and funny as it is thrilling and original—the story of two young men on an impossible adventure
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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A Brilliant and Vivid Tale ( billrco )
Every once in a while I read a novel that it so riveting, fascinating,and memorable that I want to shout its brilliance to the world. City of Thieves now joins this company. The Eastern front of World War II has always been an interest of mine. Coupled with my enjoyment of mystery/thrillers, City of Thieves was a natural after I read a review in the Los Angeles Times. Author David Benioff is a wonderful storyteller as he grabs the reader, creates unforgetable characters in the stunning and horrific setting of the siege of Leningrad, and tells a story that is hard to put down. I will not retell the plot, but City of Thieves starts out as two unwilling young men embark on a seemingly impossible journey in the pursuit of a dozen eggs for a Soviet Colonel that must be accomplished in order for them to survive. As the storyline progresses, it also becomes a picaresque tale as these two and then a young female partisan are engulfed in both a battle for survival and a coming of age, against the backdrop of the horrors and terror of a brutal war. There are also glints of hope, humor, and romance to warm the reader. It could have turned into a bloated and corny melodrama. However, author Benioff avoided this with a crisp and concise plot that avoids the gratuitous, undeveloped, and spontaneous actions that can make a thriller or mystery ridiculous and ultimately an unsatisfying waste of time. This is not a long novel at 258 pages, but perhaps the compactness is part of its success. Benioff tells a wonderful story without any fluff that bogs down many longer books. It is a vivid and unforgettable tale that leaves much to the imagination, yet satisfies the reader. I wish I could have given it 6 stars!
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Exciting, entertaining, educational
This book has everything - history, intrigue, drama, harsh reality, excitement, and even humor. I look forward to reading other books by Benioff.
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 A dystopian journey through WWII Leningrad ( homeward_bound_books )
A good page-turner. This one will appeal to those who love WW II military stories and anyone who loves an odyssey through a dystopian landscape. Lev, a Jewish boy too young for the Soviet army, is arrested for looting the body of German bomber pilot that lands near his apartment. But instead of the usual punishment of a bullet in the head, he is sent on an impossible quest with Koyla, an army deserter Don Juan who fancies himself a conman. Their goal: locate a dozen eggs for a wedding cake to be made for a Russian colonel's daughter in a city under siege and without food. This story will grab ahold of you and keep you reading page after page.
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Great story ( okiefromnorman )
City of Thieves has a story that pulls you in and keeps you reading. It tells a wonderful and horrible story of what the Russian people went through during their occupation of WWII. Benioff uses just the right amount of humor and characters that you really care about. Buy it!
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Great ( deadlyvegas )
I would like to spare you the same disappointment I had with this nearly flawless book. DO NOT READ THE PROLOGUE. I have no idea how the author, the editor, and publisher agreed to add those mere three pages that nearly ruin the rest of the book. But I'm glad I got over it and continued. This is an amazing book. I've read a lot of WWII era books, and this one is funnier and more entertaining than others. In my opinion, it is nearly a perfect book except for the ridiculous prologue.
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