City of Thieves: A Novel

What a fantastic story! I purchased this book after I read it so I could share it with as many people as possible. It is hard to believe that a book set during such a horrible period in history could be so enjoyable to read. If you like historical fiction and love books with extraordinary characters, please make this the next book you read. You will not be disappointed.

I loved his first novel "25th Hour" and the film which he scripted but the long wait has been worth it for David Benioff's second. Rather than a New York crime novel nothing prepares you for its story line based on the siege of Leningrad for which he pays great tribute to the book "900 days" by Harrison Salisbury, which is also my only basis for any prior knowledge.

The novel is about survival in one of the most vicious drawn out battles of the second world war where the civil population suffered under both armies with starvation for the populace of the Russian held city which makes up the basic story line (with its fine hypocritical finish) and the countryside being ravaged by the German armies. What makes this such another great read is Benioff's ability to not only tell a great story but also convey very well the feelings of his characters - the frightened teenager lead character after being abandoned by his friends is thrown into an impossible seeming mission with an over literate army deserter to find a dozen eggs where nobody has tasted an egg in months in the city. Their trawling of the many different scams and thieves in the city forces a move to the countryside where living by their wits they encounter the true horror of the war after being taken in by a team of partisans.

The ability of conveying how people behave and react under such extremes whatever their role and background and the endless daily struggle to just overcome hunger and survive as civilians in the Eastern War is an aspect of WW2 which many authors let alone novelists (certainly not English speakers) have had little to say about. Benioff however has conveyed it all in such a convincing way that even where the facts seem amazing they are accepted as what happened, the encountering of cannabilism in Leningrad being a good example.

Based on this very enjoyable and revelatory story, I cannot wait for Benioff's third novel to hit the bookstalls.

I read a lot and this is the best book I've read in a long time. After being disappointed with both The Story of Edgar Sawtelle and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, I knew by Page 10 that I needed to read slowly because the book couldn't last forever.

Sometimes a book comes along that combines a good story with wonderful writing. Writing that makes the reader want to slow down and savor the words. I found that The Story of Edgar Sawtelle seemed affected and false but Mr. Benioff hit the perfect combination of plot and writing.

It's a home run and I would recommend it to anyone!

When does this book pick up? I'm on page 120 and am forcing myself to continue because I actually purchased this book with a gift certificate.
It is just so boring. So far I'm kicking myself for selecting it. I suppose I should wait to complete it - if I change my mind and this turns around, I'll let you know!

Katherine B

Extremely well written and flowing tale of a 17 year-old Jewish boy's coming of age in the besieged Leningrad of World War II. The absurdities and beauracracies of war reminded me a bit of "Company Aytch" an autobiographical account of the U.S. Civil War from the viewpoint of a private. The hero, Lev, is sort of a civilian private in Leningrad, who teams up with an actual awol Russian private to go on a mission for a Russian Colonel to come up with a dozen eggs for the wedding of the Colonel's daughter. After a period of becoming involved with the characters and their various failed attempts to accomplish this Homeric task, the idea no longer seems so odd. I could not decide if there was any symbolism to the eggs, but they certainly highlight the irony of the struggle.

I found the characters fairly well developed for such a short book, and the story plausible. My knowledge of Leningrad history is limited, but it is certainly accurate in a broad sense, and other reviewers with more credentials seem to have no complaints in this category.

It is set in Russia, but it's kinship to any Russian novels I have ever read ends there. It is darkly optimistic- the New Yorker even says sentimental, (whatever)- but it certainly isn't going to leave the reader drowning in existential angst.

It is often times vulgar and profane, as I suppose a story involving soldiers and "coming of age" youth can be, but I found it tiresome. A little goes a long way for me. I don't hear a lot of swearing down at the office, and while I didn't get the vapors or anything it did detract from rather than enhance the story for me. That's probably just me, but a heads up to others so they won't be caught off guard.

Again, a very, very well written story. It was either not incredibly deep, or else its depth escaped me, but regardless I liked it a lot and found it to be a "page turner". It has a little bit of a lot of things- quest, coming of age, history, war, even a bit of, sort of, kind of, romance. Friendship, however, was the main theme for me as the book tells the odd way that life sometimes has of forcing you to be with people you would never choose and imposing on you a reluctant friendship that suddenly surprises you with its strength and importance. All well told and entertaining. Recommend with few reservations.