Review: City of Thieves - David Benioff

This book takes place during the siege of Leningrad in World War II. Lev, a 17 year old boy is caught looting from a German soldier. He is taken into custody and expects to be shot, but instead he is sent on a crazy journey to find a dozen eggs for an NKVD general’s daughter’s wedding cake. He is joined on this quest by Kolja, a young soldier in the Red Army, who was caught allegedly deserting his unit. Their quest seems impossible, as the people of Leningrad are starving and some have even turned to cannibalism. Finding a dozen eggs in these conditions seems like an impossible feat. But if they don’t return with the eggs, they will be shot, so there is nothing for it but to set off and try and find some eggs. 

During their hunt they encounter many people and end up in a number of dangerous situations. The quest seems impossible but you can’t help rooting for them anyway. I thought the action was well written and it was well paced too. There are a few quieter moments in-between, where we get to know more about the boys and the people they meet along the way. 

As for the characters I really enjoyed getting to know practically all of them. Lev is a normal boy, scared of many things, insecure and moody sometimes. Kolja seems the eternal optimist, which can seem a bit unbelievable under the circumstances, but I guess some people are like that, and he is a nice counterweight to all the doom and gloom of the setting. The story is told by the author after interviews with his grandfather, Lev, and while I did find it very interesting, by the end I really wanted a book about his grandmother’s experiences during the same time. I won’t spoil it for you, but if you’ve read it, I think you will know why. 

As I said above, the book takes place during World War II, which usually makes for harrowing stories. Furthermore, it is set in Leningrad during the siege, where the Germans tried to starve the people out, which makes for even more harrowing stories. Add to that Kolja’s eternal concern with his bowel movements, and Lev’s growing interest in sex, and you need a strong constitution to read this book. I enjoyed it very much, and I didn’t find that the descriptions were too much or dwelling too long on the gory bits, but perhaps the faint of heart or the very youngest readers should give this one a miss. 

I gave it 4 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.