City of Thieves: A Novel

I guess I read enough fiction to set some pretty high standards - or least enough to qualify as a skeptical, even jaded critic, especially when sources like "The New York Times Book Review" gush such high praise, and "...remind us what a beautifully ambiguous world we live in." So I'm thinking, the siege of Leningrad, Nazi's, Bolsheviks, and starvation - yeah, lots of ambiguity there. Yikes! Time to batten down the hatches and prepare for the latest liberal barrage of revisionist history and moral relativism. Wow, could I have been more wrong? David Benioff knocks it out of the park in this one, a landmark WWII novel that manages to capture the horrors of war and mankind at its most squalid depths while uncannily finding humor and dignity in settings and situations that could not be more incongruous. Lev Beniov is a teenager, arrested by his Soviet comrades for looting the corpse of an unfortunate German pilot who, apparently ejected from his broken Junker, freezes to death during his parachute's long journey through an impossibly frigid Russian winter night. Thrown into Leningrad's dreaded "Crosses" prison, Lev is sure he'll face the execution squad in the morning. Joining him in the cell is Kolya, a gregarious young Soviet soldier and, as a deserter, assigned to the same fate. There could not be an odder couple: Lev, the scrawny, gloomy, and introverted Jew matched with the brawny, handsome, confident, and sexually active Kolya. But rather than facing the noose or firing squad in the morning, the Soviet Colonel in charge of the prison offers to his captives his own mission impossible: "find me a dozen eggs for my daughter's wedding cake next week, and you'll earn your reprieve". So young Lev and Kolya set out across the barren and brutal ghettos and outskirts of Leningrad on a futile search for eggs in a famished city, where beloved pets have long ago been reduced to meals, where wood chips or a leather strap serve as a passable meal in a nightmare urbanscape of canals and streets clogged with stacks of the forsaken city's dead. Benioff spins his tale with the easy banter of a master storyteller, a talented writer whose easy prose ebbs and flows in stark contrast to the horrors of old St. Petersburg's brutal siege. This is an author whose keen insight manipulates the reader's emotions from one atrocity to the next, uncannily injecting black humor and suspense, while all the while crafting a beautifully poignant coming of age tale of love, loss and survival. "City of Thieves" is a rare treat; a literary gem that deftly navigates that fine line between despair and triumph, and in the process defines the art that separates the truly great novel from the rest of the pack. So, to The New York Times Book Review - my apologies - you nailed it - a remarkable effort that indeed captures that "beautifully ambiguous world" in which we live. My candidate for "book of the year' - bravo, Mr. Benioff.

I would never have dreamed that a story set during the WW II Siege of Leningrad could be as engaging and darkly humorous as this book, but the Author has done a fine job of bringing a diverse set of characters to life, two of whom have been given an impossible mission (find a dozen eggs!) in an unbearable situation (the Blockade of Leningrad, and its consequent famine). I have over a dozen books on the Siege of Leningrad (for a project I'm working on), and I have to say that the Author portrays the siege with accuracy, if not with full depth - in large part because the story is told from the viewpoint of Lev, a 17 year old boy. This doesn't give the reader an omniscient overview of "the big picture", but it certainly provides a very specific perspective on life in and around the city, and one well worth reading. It's an "impression" of life during the city, and I have to say that with one exception - Lev would have been much hungrier and weaker in real life - a fairly accurate one. Readers of "The 900 Days" will recognize the inspiration for a specific scene, (Hint: Beware of well fed men in a famine) but how the characters react to what happens makes the action their own. And what characters! The two main characters that carry the book deserve to be remembered as a classic pairing. Their interactions, observations and the journey they take on their absurd quest are one that I will remember for a very long time. Lev, the narrator, will remind most adult men of their own awkward youth. Wry, dry, frustrated and a little plodding, he is enormously sympathetic, while seemingly always in the process of doing a "Straight Man's Slow Burn" in a comedy routine. Kolya, an accidental Red Army deserter, is overly confident, irresistably charming and scatologically minded. Imagine a dirty minded Bugs Bunny come to life as a 6ft tall, Blond hair Blue eyed Russian and you're not too far off. By the end of the story, these two have formed a real bond and friendship - one that seems real, rather than forced for the sake of the story. The supporting characters are all given real weight - you feel that this really could have happened, and that these aren't just puppets the author is manipulating, but real people. Is it serious? Yes. Is it a war story? Yes. Is it funny? Yes. Is it a coming of age story? Yes. Is it historically accurate? Yes. It's simply got quite a lot to offer to any reader. I highly recommend it to both the general reading public and to WWII buffs.

"City of Thieves" is an extraordinary book. I was enthralled and engrossed from Page 1. While it is easy for a reader to over-praise what one feels in the moment about a book's high quality, in this case I am confident that Benioff's work will remain popular and important. In my opinion it ranks with some of the great anti-war novels: "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque; "Soldier of the Great War" by Mark Helprin; and "Slaughterhouse Five" by Kurt Vonnegut (and others). Time will tell as to the lasting power of "City of Thieves." Lev is the primary character, 17 years old, small, emaciated and fearful, a sad but smart teen-age survivor of the early years of WWII in war-torn Leningrad. He is filled with negativity and self-pitying teen age complaints. Then into his life comes the Siege of Leningrad, which lasted 872 days. This story takes place during early stages of the Siege in the middle of the dead, unspeakably cold winter of 1941-42. Koyla, age 20, is Lev's unlikely sidekick, with Vika the heroine. The story is at once moving and funny, tragic and heart wrenching. How can any reader not be charmed by, touched by and completely enmeshed in this page-turner? The idiocy of war, with its horrors and despicable conduct by the Nazis, is driven home like a stiletto into your heart. It is also very funny. Structurally, for the story's sake, Koyla is Lev's alter-ego, his brave and fearless side, the man he always wished he were: handsome, tall, physically powerful, educated, imaginative, fearless, sophisticated, woman-knowledgeable, even arrogant and over-confident. Thus, Koyla is everything that Lev is not. Lev is full of fear, a nerd, greatly lacking self-confidence, pre-occupied with impossible sexual fantasies about girls (though completely inexperienced in real life) and glum to the extreme. In a sense toward the end, they become one person, heroic and admirable but with all aspects of their complete personalities intact. The play of one side of Lev against the other is skillfully acted out by both young men in the early moments of their friendship. They embark upon a "fantasy adventure" to locate one dozen eggs (and their souls) in ravaged, devastated, below-zero, enemy-encircled Leningrad and its German-held outskirts. There are no eggs in Leningrad, but they need to find the dozen eggs to satisfy a somewhat demented Russian officer, who will then grant them a pardon for their earlier transgressions, if they return in one week with the eggs - to be used for the wedding cake of the officer's daughter. Thus, the bulk of the story spans a period of approximately 7 days. This literary device is clever, and one quickly forgets that it is far-fetched. Benioff snags you hook, line and sinker. What keep Lev and Koyla going is their built-in personality conflict, their oh-so-Russian humor, and their resilience - to say nothing of a clear admiration of one for the other and the desire to satisfy the requirements of their "sentence." Each contributes equally to the story's progress and power. Vika, the young sharp shooter girl, becomes their erstwhile companion, as their often misfired attempts to reach their objective (the eggs) take them from one debacle to another. She is a most remarkably developed character. Please note that there is considerable sickening violence and some gruesome scenes along the way. This Troika of young Russian personalities embed themselves into your being, and you'll find, as I did, that you will be unable to put this book down. It's a 5.

City of Thieves is one of those stories that not only is a wonderfully entertaining read, but it allows the reader to truly question the reliability of the perspective of these two main characters. Our narrator is Lev, a Jew living in Leningrad during the German invasion of Russia during WWII. Lev's father was a famous poet that was actually taken away and killed due to some of his writings that were deemed derogatory against "the party." Lev's own Stalinst country killed his father, yet his patriotism to mother Russia remains strong. Pitting the brain washing of Hitler's Germany against Stalinism in communist Russia is brilliant on the part of Benioff. It adds another layer of depth to the story in which history and psychology become motivating factors for characters on each side of their respective conflict. Lev is picked up by Russian police after he is caught looting a dead German paratrooper. He's taken to 'the crosses' which is a prison known in Leningrad, or Piter, for the place where traitors to Russia are taken and never return. It's so interesting that while fighting an invader, Russia is still at war within itself and will go to any measure to secure allegiance to the party (no wonder Orwell was so inspired by Russian politics). In the crosses Lev meets a young Russian soldier named Kolya who is picked up and accused of deserting his unit on the front line. The two prisoners are given a second chance at life when a high ranking officer sends them on a quest to obtain a dozen eggs in a starving city for his daughter's wedding cake. The people of Piter are resorting to melted library book covers for protein yet the wealthy have plenty of food and are even concerned with things like wedding celebrations. The injustice is obvious, but our two characters are gracious for the opportunity to secure their 'freedom' and so they embark on their quest. The relationship between Lev and Kolya is entertaining and readers follow these two through a confrontation with cannibals, a child's despair, dog's used as bombs, hunger, cold, partisan militias, raped women held captive by Germans and ultimately the German kill squad that has been reaping havoc on the countryside. Lev's cynicism and Kolya's charm play well off each other and we want to believe in Lev as our narrator, but there are several instances where he openly acknowledges that he is a product of a brainwashed stalinist Russia. This book made me want to take a history class that focuses on Russia during this time. The frayed framework of the country is exposed during the German invasion and some of Russia's dirty internal dealings are laid bare for the reader and for Lev, and ultimately we know that he is trapped and he must do what he can to survive. I would by no means say this is a happy book, the tone is full of melancholy and it's obvious as to why, but the exploration of friendship and the push to survive is ultimately what hooks the reader along with the unexpected revelations of the quest and the dark depths of all the characters.

Lev is seventeen and has been in Stalingrad for the seige by the Germans during World War II. Food is scarce if it can be found at all. He is a night watcher for his neighborhood along with other teenagers from his building. They see a German paratrooper floating down right outside their building and they go to inspect him. He is dead and Lev takes his knife. They are breaking curfew and when Russian soldiers arrive they scurry for cover but Lev is arrested. As he is sitting in a cell, expecting to be killed in the morning for thievery and breaking curfew, another prisoner arrives. He is tall, blonde, good-looking and wearing the uniform of the Russian army. What is his crime? It turns out he didn't get back to his unit on time and is charged with being a deserter. When morning comes, the two expect to face a firing squad. But instead they face the commander of the troops. He is willing to give them a chance. His daughter is about to get married and if they can find a dozen eggs and get them to him before the wedding in three days, they are free to go. Lev and Kolya take off. They have many adventures as they move within occupied cities, cities in seige status and behind enemy lines. Along the way, they stumble upon a house where girls are kept for German officers' pleasure. They chase rumors of someone who has eggs and Koyla takes time out to find female companionship wherever they are. The two form a friendship that will endure for their lifetimes. David Benioff is best known for being one of the showrunners for HBO's Game Of Thrones. I wish he had written more books because this one was wonderful. The growing friendship between the two main characters, Lev's journey from being a boy to a man and the history are all engaging. This book is recommended for readers of literary and historical fiction.

Haunting, graphic, and dark. Very well written but I didn’t care about the plot until the end when it all comes back together. Up to the end I wouldn’t have rated this book highly just because it’s so graphic and the plot seems trite given horror of the times. The end ties it together perfectly and I am glad I read it, even though it was dark. It also makes more sense knowing a writer for GOT is the author.

About the Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad is an event so horrific that it stands out even in the context of World War II. City of Thieves is the first book about it that I read and keep coming back to – growing up in the Soviet Union, I had learned enough in school and from the experiences of family and others to believe I knew all there was to know on the topic. The author bases the book on the memories of his grandfather who lived through the siege as a youth. He tells the story from the viewpoint of Lev, a teenager who refused to evacuate with his mother and sister and whose father disappeared in a Stalin’s purge. Lev’s life is in danger when he is detained for looting. But he gets a reprieve. A colonel dispatches him and another prisoner, Kolya, an army deserter, on an expedition to locate and bring a dozen eggs for his daughter’s wedding cake. They have four days to succeed or lose their lives. In a city pounded by Nazi air raids and isolated like an island where some restore to cannibalism and thousands die of hunger every day, a full-fledged wedding is an incomprehensible idea. A wedding complete with a cake makes the idea bizarre and insulting. Lev and Kolya face deathly encounters, cross into Nazi-occupied territory and connect with partisans. On the way back, Kolya gets killed. Lev delivers the eggs only to discover that the colonel had managed to procure them elsewhere and had forgotten about his messengers. About the Siege of Leningrad? The plot moves fast, filled with acute observations and self-deprecating reflections. The war is, however, merely the surface of the plot. It brings to the fore the Soviet social ills. The title may as well have been “Country of Thieves.” The author couldn’t know what Soviets digested with their mothers’ milk. Toasted bread was an unknown. Evacuation from the Nazi was not on foot or by hitchhiking. The end-of-siege salute would only display red color, if any, not red-white-and-blue. No “snug compartments” existed in egg packaging. And most importantly, Lev would reside in a communal, not private, apartment. Neither would he have roommates because the obligatory propiska (residence permit) was unattainable and because the communal neighbors would report illegal tenants. These details aside, that much is obvious to a former Soviet citizen: Benioff is steeped in family stories. Proof positive is this description: “’For Mother Russia!’ He downed the wood alcohol with a gulp, slammed the glass down on the table, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and gagged.” Not about the siege of Leningrad! Benioff shows an innate understanding of the climate and mentality brought on by the infamous 1930’s Stalin’s Purges and the hypocrisy, corruption, bigotry, and constant fear that permeate Soviet everyday life. Lev’s thoughts are always on the fact that he is Jewish and on his father’s fate. His father, taken by NKVD (later known as KGB) from his office four years earlier, never returned. He “had the misfortune of being a Jew and a poet” who publicly referred to Leningrad by its nickname Piter (Peter) forbidden because it reminded of a Tsar. Lev tries to visualize what happened to his father next. “They had no torture scheduled, no teeth to wrench, no nails to pluck from a screaming man’s nail beds,” he says about his smiling jail guards who might have been his father’s torturers. He is bitter that no one outside family mentions his father. He knows exactly how many men were arrested from the building where he lived—fifteen. The few that came back, “their heads shaved and their faces pale and lifeless,” avoided Lev’s eyes. They knew that his family had not been so lucky. “If he was buried, there is no marker; if he was burned, there is no urn.” “The secret to living a long life” Small, shy, and awkward around girls, Lev dislikes his stereotypically Jewish features. Like any Soviet Jew, he has developed an expectation of trouble lurking everywhere. His Gentile counterparts feel entitled to poke fun at, scorn, distrust, or threaten a Jew with impunity. He doesn’t forget for a moment that Kolya, his partner on their death-defying errand, originates from pogrom-loving Cossacks. And Kolya is surprised that Lev does not prefer Mahler, a Jew, to Shostakovich, a Gentile. An instinct tells Lev that the colonel who saved his life did not lose his teeth to a disease or busted his knuckles in a fight. “They had brought him in during one purge or another… pried the teeth from his mouth, and beaten him till his eyes bled, till he pissed blood and shat blood.” Lev knows why the colonel was spared and his father wasn’t: “An intelligence officer might hold future value for the state but a decadent poet did not.” The colonel and Lev don’t have to talk to understand the reality of their lives. “Those words you want to say right now? Don’t say them.” … “And that, my friend, is the secret to living a long life.” These are the last words of this story that is not about the siege of Leningrad Miscellaneous facts: 800,000 civilians lost their lives during the siege of Leningrad that lasted from September 1941 to January 1944. The Russian vocabulary acquired a new word, blokadnik, a person who survived the siege of Leningrad (from blokada that means blockade). In 1948, Stalin who did not like people feeling they were heroes closed the Siege Museum that opened after the siege. The museum reopened in 1989.

I read this book in two days, I tried not reading it in two days but I couldn't resist. Some people say its too vulgar but as a teenager who doesn't talk about that stuff I have STILL met boys who talk about that stuff in that way. I think those people are just ignorant. That isn't their fault, but I think the dialogue is realistic. Im 19 so I'd say Im an expert in how teenagers talk (as im its pretty fresh in my head how they can talk) Now the story its self is a great one too. It follows the idea of Simple story complex charaters perfectly. You will not get lost and confused in an overly complicated plot. I care about both the main characters because it was written quite well. I'd also definitely recommend it for those people who are interested in WW2 as well, you can learn some things, and some things are put into perspective. It isn't overloaded with facts or anything, but it has some interesting stuff I never knew about. Never really got to know this stuff in schools. You always hear about germans, americans, and Japanese countries in the united states schools. Not as much about Russian, its kinda glossed over.

This book is an absolute gem in the literary world. This is the first David Benioff's book I read. I am now a fan of his work. Even when I was not reading the book the plot was all over my mind. I have been always curious about WWII but I couldn't find too many books/movies/documentaries covering Russian side. Though it is plot is fictional and I felt the struggle of the people was real. Must read.

Benioff is a great storyteller. An entertaining, thought-provoking book I couldn't put down. It's an easy read, but also contained enough historical details to make it believable. Sitting here by my fire, I realised how terrible those times must have been, trudging through the the Russian winter ice, the war with Germany, the personal hardships and losses, the power of friendships, the difficult transition of a shy awkward 17 year old boy into an adult. A very interesting read.

Une belle histoire sur fond de guerre cruelle et absurde. Malgré le contexte difficile, le livre est facile à lire (captivant) et plein d'humour.

If you enjoy historical fiction, the author David Benioff writes a very compelling story based on what his grandfather went through during the war. I really enjoyed this book as it also contains some humour throughout the chapters. This author co-produced Game of Thrones. He definitely has a lot of talent for writing.

Absolutely incredible story. So funny throughout but also so exciting and tender. Love love loved it.