From the critically acclaimed author of The 25th Hour and When the Nines Roll Over and co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones, 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 … 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, the New York Times bestseller 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.
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Who would have thought that you could take a story about two strangers on a search for a dozen eggs, set in the utter misery and desperation of the siege of Leningrad and make it a funny, relatable, and utterly engaging story?
To me, City of Thieves has everything that the classic Russian novels contain. Even though War and Peace is famously long (almost 1,300 pages!), I found it to be an incredibly fast, entertaining read. The great Russian authors; Dostoevsky, Chekov, Tolstoy, and Solzhenitsyn, were all able to imbue their novels with a dark humor, a casual everydayness, set amongst a backdrop of some of the most horrific human experiences imaginable. I knew nothing of Benioff when I started reading the novel, and I admittedly know very little about him now. I assumed, as I read the novel, that he had to be Russian or at least of Russian descent. I don’t think either of those is the case, which makes his writing even that much more impressive.
If you’ve never read Russian literature, then I recommend you start with City of Thieves because it will give you a flavor of the style, and it will put you into a world that is hard to imagine, but one which brings out the human condition in all of its greatness; tragic and beautiful. If you are already a fan of Russian literature, then you will love this book!
This harrowing journey through WWII Leningrad and beyond with a young Jewish firefighter and a charismatic Red Army deserter packs a punch, with plenty of black humor to soften the blow. Highly recommended.
Great read for historical fiction fans.
One of the best. Shows you how hard life can be & how fortunate we are…
My favorite read this year! A twisted dark comedy that makes you hate war and love people. Absolutely brilliant!
Quick read and a memorable one
I would be surprised if this story does not reach the big screen. I found it to be a really wonderful story.
Great story!
Favorite novel
This is one of my very favorite books but did not have it as an e-book. Was very happy to see Book Bub offer it & got the audio version too, especially since Ron Perlman is the narrator. You will love everything about this story. My husband & both brothers, plus a friend from Russia all enjoyed it immensely. It will be my nomination for my book club group next time too.
I don’t read many novels because the plots are often trite, the characters are uninteresting, and in general they’re poorly written and just boring. “City of Thieves” is different. I loved it. The characters are engaging, the plot is a real page turner, there are unexpected twists, and best of all, the story was very engaging and I really cared about what happened to the two main characters. The setting – Russia during WW2 – felt very authentic.
The author, David Benioff, is one of the two major writers for the Game of Thrones TV series. His craftsmanship is on display as he transports the reader back to WW II Russia. A Jewish young man and a Cossack Red Army deserter are condemned to death, and their only hope of a reprieve is to return with one dozen eggs in the midst of the battle for Leningrad, in time for the wedding cake for the daughter of a KGB Colonel. Only through teamwork and overcoming incredible odds do they have any hope of avoiding Nazi soldiers and corrupt Russian soldiers in time to produce a miracle of one dozen fragile eggs.
If you haven’t read this, you need to. An amazing book that tells a poignant story, never told in this way. I loved it and will reread!
Loved this slim book about a horrific chapter in Russian history. Believable and endearing characters, not too many graphic details of the atrocities involved in the daily struggle to survive the Nazi drive ofeningrad, and of course human redemption, make this an engaging read. A tightly written tale.
This view of Leningrad during the siege was beautifully written and informative. The characters were very engaging. The reader got a real sense of time and place.
Really loved this book. Characters were great. Setting was harsh but dialogue was lovely.
This book is sweet, suspenseful, educational and tragic all at the same time, I am glad I read it
I’m reading this book at present. The story line is great but it goes on too long to make the point.
Great, I really enjoyed it.
WW2 tale set during Germany’s brutal invasion of Russia. Despite food rationing, extreme hardships and destruction of their very way of life, two young men from different backgrounds facing punishment for alleged wrongs are sent on redeeming quest to find a dozen eggs so a Generals daughter can have a wedding cake! Ha! Along the way they enjoin with partisans led by a tough young woman, face constant danger, engage in running combat with Nazi patrols, encounter both horrible & ludicrous situations, find friendship, love, humor and success albeit with tragic loss. So beautifully written I felt as though I was there with the characters. You can read 50 novels before you come across one as original and entertaining as this. Glad I read it!