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City of Thieves: A Novel
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $15.00
Manufacturer: Plume
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Description
From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival—and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.
During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, 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 Soviet 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 through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.
By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, City of Thieves is a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.
Reviews
Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2010-09-01
Summary: "Great story, vulgar inuendos throughout..CONSTANTLY!"
I LOVED the story line but the constant references to masterbation and sexual exploits were at times, too much. Many times I wanted to put it down becasue the language and sexual slang is so rough (example, using the "C" word to describe a female). I did finish because, like I said, it is a great story.
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2010-08-30
Summary: "Quick, satisfying read"
This was a quick, fun read (although I hesitate to use the word 'fun' given the horrific, violent gory details)that made me want to read an historical account of the siege of Leningrad. As another reviewer indicated, you could almost envision the feature film as you read the book, given all the clever repartee in moments of peril, that the characters had very little depth, and that some things tied up a little too nicely in the end. However, if your goal in reading this book is to understand an historical account of this time, than this is not the book for you. If your goal is to be transported by an unlikely tale, to enjoy a riveting, gripping story and to looking forward to stolen moments to read to find out what happens next, read it for the pure entertainment value. Junk food, if you will, but delicious and enjoyable nonetheless.
Rating: 2 / 5
Date: 2010-08-18
Summary: "Send it back to the editor"
I had to read this for a book club and initially found it very interesting. Then the wheels almost fell off, for me at least. The author throws out some obvious impossibilities that really bothered me and the sexual sub-plot was like a bad painting...good intentions but horrible use of color and style. He does a poor job of character development and overloads on the gratuitous sex. There's one really bad mistake where he refers to spray painted graffiti and black marker. Bear in mind this story takes place in the early forties...I suddenly had this vision of someone popping the top off a spray can of paint and going to work. Their initial meeting with Vika had her described as a sniper who picked off not one but two moving targets at 400 meters, in the dark, both head shots. Like hell! And the scene where they have a company of Germans escorting prisoners 200 meters away and coming directly at them but don't see them while they carry on a conversation, stash their rifles and one of them removes his white Anorak is just horrible, sloppy writing. And he tosses around very obscure German words, the longer the better, that were a distraction. Fortunately it did pick up a bit toward the end so it wasn't all bad but I'm completely baffled by those who rate this 5 stars. This is NOT a great novel and a stretch to call it average. Sorry. It would have been really good with another round of proofreading and editing before it was published. So typical of books today where the bottom line is rush it into publication. Hemingway would roll over in his grave! To his credit the author does have a pretty good knack for metaphor.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-18
Summary: "Storytelling at its finest"
"City of Thieves" captured my interest and imagination from the very first page. A story within a story, "Thieves" traces the harrowing journey of two unlikely partners through a Leningrad under siege as told by a young man whose grandparents survived. Alternating scenes of incredible brutality alongside absurd humor, the author -- never allowing his characters to wallow in self-pity -- illuminates their struggle to keep a fragile humanity flickering in a savage darkness. In the end, it's all about making the best of the hand life deals you. Storytelling at its finest.
For a historical perspective, sample "The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad," by Harrison Salisbury which, through survivors' accounts, documents many of the same horrors depicted in "City of Thieves."
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-16
Summary: "Compelling Piece of Historical Fiction"
This terrific novel is set during the siege of Leningrad in WWII. The primary character is a seventeen year old arrested for looting the body of a dead German paratrooper. He is forced to join forces with a 20 year old suspected deserter after their very brief prison stint. The two are sent off to find a dozen eggs in the city that has been famished for months. The looter is a naive young man with few life experiences. To listen to the deserter, he has all the experiences that life can offer while being the ultimate literary scholar and critic. He is the ultimate in self-confidence. The two young men's relationship grows as they begin their search for the eggs. The search takes them out of the city and into occupied territory with all the "adventures" one could expect and some one could not.
There is dark humor in the book, while the horrors of war, siege and famine are on more than equal display. This is a tale of survival as well as a certain coming of age. The boy stayed in Leningrad after his mother and sister left so he could man-up and fight the Germans. Doing so, brought the reality of war home in striking contrast to his prior romantic vision. The author also shows the dichotomy of one fascist country fighting another. As awful as Mother Russia was to the boy's father and family, it is still his mother country and he will fight for it.
The writing is terrific. The two main characters are wonderfully fleshed out and some of their dialogue is priceless. One must smile at the deserter's words, while feeling the pain and loneliness of the looter's. The supporting cast is also good, although there is really only one other character (the young female sniper) who plays anything more than a bit part.
This is a novel that treads the fine line between telling the seriousness of war while keeping a human and, at times, humorous side to it. Mr. Benioff does this well. He does not diminish the horrors of famine and war while still having some very human humor thrown in along the way. Highly recommended.