City of Thieves
Ratings165
Average rating4.3
Literally my go-to book to recommend to people. Read it. You will not regret it. Then be shocked that Benioff is one of the show runners for GoT.
Not, as my mother initially thought, a funny and charming read. It is both of those at times, but it is also dark and, at times, graphic. Worth reading.
David Benioff's City Of Thieves is proof that a familiar plot, if told well, can be transformed into a compelling story. Two characters, one being the narrator, are thrown together are given a herculean task to perform in order to escape death. Without giving away the plot I had a general sense of what would happen to the characters early on in the story but read on because the author did an excellent job of creating characters worth caring about. It's a story that's been told a million times but the author has done it exceptionally well.
I read this book for a book club and in a lot of ways it is a typical book you read for a book club. It’s well-acclaimed, not too long and requires minimal context. It’s the type of book that you should have a good time picking up and finishing within a month. That is not an insult to this book whatsoever because I tend to love book club books and this one is no exception.
City of Thieves tells the story of a boy named Lev during the course of one week of his life in WWII Russia. Lev goes through a lot of trauma during the course of this week and we feel every second of it. But where this book truly shines is in the moments where it doesn’t focus on the horrific things that Lev goes through. In these moments we see the humanity of Lev and the other people around him as they do their best to survive and thrive in an extremely difficult time. Historical fiction is a genre that I’ve always really enjoyed for this reason. Too often while reading a history book or listening to a podcast we hear about the sheer numbers or only the important figures. This is especially true of WWII. But a book like this lets us look at a small story within that time period and realize that sometimes teenagers in WWII just acted like teenagers. I can definitely see an argument that this book is too juvenile but I think it’s quite realistic and I never had a problem with the tone. Benioff does not shy away from the atrocities that he is writing about, he just chooses to dedicate some words to things outside of them and I think that allows this story to work. And it works so well. In fact, this is a book that I don’t have any real criticisms for. It’s pretty perfect.
This is not my typical read but I was really invested in this story. I think listening to the audio book helped a lot but I found the characters had depth and while most of the twists were pretty predictable, it didn't affect my ability to enjoy the plot.
A perfect split between absolutely grim and beautifully uplifting– my face was glued to this story as I yearned for it to unfold. Benioff did an amazing job with the pacing, the characters, and the perfect level of detail.
While this certainly falls under the category of historical fiction, I think it would appeal to both fans and enemies of the genre. At its core, it's just a great story with suspense, drama, and comedy. And I'm sure it even counts as learning about of the Siege of Leningrad, although you won't find any of the historical detail boring.
For those on the fence, I would highly recommend just giving it a try. City of Thieves just has a way of pulling you in and the characters are so genuine that I found myself hearing their laughter, feeling their hunger, and thinking of my own way out of their unique situations. You won't be able to predict where the story goes at any point.
I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of Benioff's work!
Absolutely loved this. As a huge History fan, and an enthusiast of fiction, I found so much to enjoy in this. The mixture of both genres typically either ends up good, or bad, and I'm glad to say that this is something close to a masterpiece. Great characters, a great plot, and emotional weight.
Absolutely loved this. As a huge History fan, and an enthusiast of fiction, I found so much to enjoy in this. The mixture of both genres typically either ends up good, or bad, and I'm glad to say that this is something close to a masterpiece. Great characters, a great plot, and emotional weight.
I absolutely adore this book. My brother gave this to me for my birthday and I for some reason put it off for a few months. The writing is so compelling and I found the characters very lovable and funny. There was no moment in which I was bored with it. I also love how unpredictable it is until the last second. I didn't expect things to go as they did but I'm very pleasantly surprised with the ending even though I could quite literally puke. It left me sick and shaky. Exactly what you'd want from a story like this one. I recommend it with all my heart.
Amazing Book
I cannot believe how much I loved this book. I thought that WWII was a bit overused these days but this is truly not a book about the war it is a story of a journey. One might call it a classic quest story.
But I truly felt involved with these characters. I really felt for them and their journey. I am not sure if this is a true story or all fiction. Either way I thought it was so well crafted.
I literally was emotional all by the end.
The boom has everything, Nazis, cannibals, chickens, etc. I think this book should go down as a classic
Amazing Book
I cannot believe how much I loved this book. I thought that WWII was a bit overused these days but this is truly not a book about the war it is a story of a journey. One might call it a classic quest story.
But I truly felt involved with these characters. I really felt for them and their journey. I am not sure if this is a true story or all fiction. Either way I thought it was so well crafted.
I literally was emotional all by the end.
The boom has everything, Nazis, cannibals, chickens, etc. I think this book should go down as a classic
3.5.
1st half was a great adventure, loved it.
2nd half was just ok, the love story parts weren't that great.
I'm not an expert of what makes a great Russian novel but Benioff has fun in ticking, with success, a lot of the boxes - (B)Romance, War, Death, Crime, Punishment, large landscapes & small details, alcohol, unappetizing food, chess, literature and all in a very un-Russian svelte 250 pages.
Wonderful insight into the Eastern front of WWII. The two leads play off of each other very well and the maturing of the main character gives a beautiful flow to the book.
Here is the thing, I will go out and say it. I am not particularly interested in books set during WW2, because I find they are often just very similar and... I find it boring. Yes, I can understand the importance of knowing about those things, the war, Holocaust, etc. But at the same time when you're talking about a topic again and again, it often turns into a competition to be the most emotional and... yes, even cheesy. Things turn into cliches.
This time period is also more limiting, as it's a sensitive topic at this point in time, so you can only approach it in certain ways and absolutely not in others.
Because of this, I wasn't entirely sure if this book was going to be good or another one on the pile of things that you have to respect because of your respect for the topic, but you don't like at all.
So we have Lev, a Russian Jewish boy during the siege of Stalingrad. He is awkward, inexperienced in life's things, taking part in some sort of a fire patrol. One night a dead Nazi paratrooper falls right by his house and with his friends they just need to look at him, then... well, take some things from the body. Hard times and all. Of course he gets caught by the police.
Once in prison for the night, he s joined by the deserter Kolya, this amazingly charismatic guy who could talk anyone into anything.
Instead of being executed, though, a colonel tells them that if they mange to get a dozen eggs in a week for his daughter's wedding cake, then they are free and they even get ration cards and all.
What I really liked is that this book had many moments that weren't dignified and beautiful. Kolya loves talking about his bowel movements. People drink, they throw insults at each other (they apparently all fucked each other's mothers), it's all just people. Because even in war, people don't just transform into these wise saying spewing poets. Nah. Life goes on, which includes all this stuff, Yay.
To me it really helped to feel for the people. They are realistic, not fake, beautiful, dignified fakes. It really adds to it all in my opinion. At one part Lev even thinks about how being in danger doesn't just automatically make you a hero.
Bad things happen, obviously. Be prepared for that. Horrible things have to happen in a book in this setting, it's pretty obvious to me, but somehow it wasn't the type of endless suffering with nothing else that bothers me with a lot of books set in this time period. I can understand it, but to me that is definitely not a pleasurable reading experience. There.
I feel like Mr. Benioff really used the limited number of pages well. It didn't feel like he was just writing an overblown short story, it had a whole story and it was obvious he knew where he wasn't going with it.
Often shorter books feel like they are not properly thought out, like they didn't have time to truly work with the story and it's so frustrating. (Hello, Bird Box.)
This is a book I am going to recommend to people, it's really something that combines the material with being actually enjoyable and a good read, something people will truly enjoy.
Good night and pick up this egg-squisite one! (Oh, dear.)
Would rate 2.5 if good reads allowed. This book felt award thirsty and I don't necessarily think it earned the emotional resonance it was going for
3.5 stars. Quick read, liked the story, had never learned about what had happened in Russia during WWII, so that was interesting.
My only complaint of this book was that it was too short - I could have read this book for another 200 pages. One of the best historical fiction narratives I've ever come across.
It's been a while since I've enjoyed a fiction(-alized) book as much as this one. A friend lent me this, and I have had it on my shelf for weeks and weeks...but once I started it, I'm having a hard time putting it down, wondering when I'm going to find some time to do some more reading. Turns out the author wrote the book that one of my favorite movies is based upon (25th Hour), so it's not exactly surprising that I like this book, but I'm still struck by how much I'm enjoying it. I think I will remember the first page, the feeling evoked, for the rest of my life–I have been thinking about it every time I have a meal.
This book oddly reminds me of a comic, Jar of Fools (by Jason Lutes), in that it has an amazing combination of hope, despair, brutality and humor.
—————–
So I finished this one in two sittings–although, granted, the second sitting was 2 hours long. I loved this book. The only reservation I had was with a slightly too-pat ending, but it's tough to have complaints when (1) the ending was still satisfying, just less so than the rest of the book and (2) it's a true story, of a sort, so it's likely that “pat” ending was simply the way things went.
This is an excellent World War II story set in and around St. Petersburg (aka Leningrad) in 1942. Lev is arrested for looting a German corpse and Kolya is arrested for desertion. A colonel gives them a choice: die by execution or find him a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding in four days. They choose the latter. The story is funny, horrible, suspenseful, heart-breaking and exciting. It draws you in completely and the writing has that effortless feeling. Great characters too. I really wouldn't want to tell you anything more. It's best to discover this story on your own. It's a quick read.