Geeks logo

City of Thieves

A dozen eggs has never been as deadly

By Kurt MasonPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
Like

I’m going to be perfectly honest about the fact that this took me a lot longer to read than it should have. For some reason, I just couldn’t motivate myself to read, despite the fact that this book was incredibly good. This book came to me in my first monthly subscription to the Literati Book Club (which I received as an amazing birthday gift--thank you!), and I was hooked as soon as the package arrived in the mail. I have always been fascinated by the World War II era, and I have always had a love for all things Russian, so I figured that this would be a perfect fit for me--and I was right.

“City of Thieves” by David Benioff tells the tale of Lev, a young Jewish boy living in Saint Petersburg (referred to throughout the book at Piter) during the German invasion. Lev is your typical teenage boy: he has a close group of friends from his apartment complex, he’s crushing on the one girl in the group, oh, and he’s also living on a food ration card and patrolling his street on the lookout for German soldiers and bomber planes. Lev’s mother and sister evacuated the city, but after his father was executed for his published writings, Lev opted to remain in Piter and do his duty to the city.

After breaking the rules and looting the body of a dead German paratrooper, Lev gets caught and is brought to one of the city’s roughest holding cells. Convinced that he is going to die, Lev is consumed with thinking about everything that he hasn’t had the opportunity to do. As a ray of light flashes into his dark cell, Lev is greeted by Kolya, a tall, blond, handsome deserter who has been thrown in the cell with Lev. While Lev prefers to remain to himself, Kolya is more than happy to fill the silence of the cell and these two form the beginnings of an unlikely friendship.

In order to forgive their transgressions against the country, they are tasked with venturing out to retrieve a dozen eggs so that the general can bake his daughter a wedding cake. Lev and Kolya, knowing that the city has been devoid of anything even resembling real eggs and meat, are faced with what seems like an impossible task, but it is one that they accept. As they begin their adventure they are faced with the disheartening news that friendships they once had are gone and people cannot always be trusted.

After finding the last rumored chicken coop in the city empty of eggs, Lev and Kolya have to set their sights outside of the city in the hopes that they may be able to find what they are looking for in one of the surrounding villages. Crossing outside of the city and into enemy territory, Lev and Kolya truly begin to see the extent of the ravages of the war and the invasion.

As their journey brings them face to face with German soldiers and splinter cell NKVD partisans, Lev and Kolya are forced into dire situations and have to make some tough decisions that change the course of their journey permanently.

This book had me hooked right from the beginning. I thought that the characters were relatable and compelling, the relationships that they formed amongst themselves were organic and believable, and I felt as though each character did a good job at representing the different aspects of humanity that are present within all of us.

This book had a fair share of hardship, strife, and sorrow, but it also had plenty of moments where I found myself chuckling (usually at one of Kolya’s jokes).

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in historical fiction--or anyone who is simply looking for the perfect tale of friendship and loss. This book is the perfect example of perseverance and sheer power of determination. Featuring woes of all shapes and sizes and the tribulations that ordinary people faced as their lives were forever changed by the war, “City of Thieves” was a fantastic read from start to finish.

5 out of 5 stars.

literature
Like

About the Creator

Kurt Mason

Teacher • Writer • Reader

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.