City of Thieves by David Benioff 3.75/5 Awards: ALA Alex Award (2009), LovelyBooks Leserpreis Nominee for Allgemeine Literatur (2009) Version française: La Ville des voleurs Synopsis 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. My thoughts The synopsis of City of Thieves almost guarantees that it was going to be a fun read. It did not disappoint in that regard. The novel was a fantastic little distraction, especially if like me, you were looking to get out of a reading slump. While CoT had many lacunas, it is an entertaining, unpretentious read. Kolya and Lev were enjoyable characters, but nothing more. They are fun, quirky and resourceful, but they were not moving protagonists. They lacked an emotional depth which I thought was strange considering that the novel was based on Benioff’s grandfather’s life in Leningrad during WWII. Personally, when I think of WWII pieces (The Book Thief, All the Light We Cannot See…), I am reminded of characters that opened my rib cage, ripped by heart out and left me bleeding. I think Benioff tried to give an emotional appeal to his characters, but fell short. This does not mean that there are no powerful moments, however, I was never able to truly connect with either of them. The setting itself was lovely and full of details. As a historical fiction (who particularly enjoys everything about WWII and Imperial Russia), I definitely felt satisfied and learned a lot as well! The author was lucky in having access to trustworthy first-hand information from his grandfather, he also clearly complimented it with some heavy research. Some parts, while historically accurate, were a bit sensationalist. Indeed, while there was cannibalism during that time, it was an odd choice to include as a plot point when it was truly only a few individuals. However, gory details were to be expected from Benioff who wrote for Game of Thrones and Wolverine. The plot, while utterly entertaining, does fall apart at certain points. I was expecting to see a full quest for eggs from beginning to end, but the author gets tangled up in too many side plots and seems to forget about the initial goal. We get introduced to many secondary characters, most of them do not push forward the initial narrative and instead, the main plot becomes about revenge or their own motives. While we do end up with a resolution about the eggs, it was disappointing and fell flat in comparison to the rest of the adrenaline-driven story. I believe CoT would have benefitted from a bit of editing to keep only the parts that were truly necessary to the narrative. Despite all this, the polished and humorous writing style kept me hooked to the story even while the plot started to divaricate. Indeed, we can clearly see that Benioff has mastered his craft as a storyteller and, with the help of his dark, twisted humour, he was able to bring light no matter the trouble Lev and Kolya were in.
Overall, CoT can be summarized as perfectly entertaining. If you were hoping to a WWII masterpiece of exceptional depth and articulated plot, you will be disappointed. However, if you are looking for a great beachside read or for a Christmas gift for someone whose bookish tastes you are not familiar with, it would be a great choice. If you liked City of Thieves, you will love… Ready Player One by Ernest Cline The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
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