<![CDATA[City of Thieves]]>

false <![CDATA[City of Thieves]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255633810m/1971304.jpg 1971304 19 As wise and funny as it is thrilling and original, the story of two young men on an impossible adventure A writer visits his retired grandparents in Florida to document their experience during the infamous siege of Leningrad. His grandmother won't talk about it, but his grandfather reluctantly consents. The result is the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds. Lev Beniov considers himself "built for deprivation". He's small, smart, and insecure, a Jewish virgin too young for the army, who spends his nights working as a volunteer firefighter with friends from his building. When a dead German paratrooper lands in his street, Lev is caught looting the body and dragged to jail, fearing for his life. He shares his cell with the charismatic and grandiose Kolya, a handsome young soldier arrested on desertion charges. Instead of the standard bullet in the back of the head, 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 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 to find the impossible. A search that takes them through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and the devastated surrounding countryside creates an unlikely bond between this earnest, lust-filled teenager and an endearing lothario with the gifts of a conman. Set within the monumental events of history, City of Thieves is an intimate coming-of-age tale with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men. 1974537 book 15 5 2008 City of Thieves total:3468|5:1237|4:1586|3:532|2:97|1:16| 3468 14335 5649 1122 5 14 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 07:59:26 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 22 19:10:43 -0700 2008
1. Many historical fiction novels are w...more...]]> 5 4 false false Sun Jul 27 22:05:15 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 22:01:49 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 22:05:15 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 4 false false Mon Aug 11 08:25:23 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 23:31:38 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 11 08:25:23 -0700 2008
...This book is incredibly fun to read--at every turn there was something to discover (Will they be killed? What's in that cabin?), and the characters were well-drawn and interesting.

I was going to give this book 4 stars, because it's pleasantly read...more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Jun 24 13:47:55 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 13:13:09 -0700 2009 Sat Nov 14 17:11:22 -0800 2009
A reviewer on amazon put it best with this:
“As A...more...]]> 4 2 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 14:51:10 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 14:52:08 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 4 false false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 11:47:27 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 30 06:58:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 4 false false Sat Feb 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 19:06:13 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 07 19:13:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 11 05:17:49 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 05:25:45 -0800 2008
...more...]]> 2 2 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 19:49:39 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 22 19:59:53 -0800 2009
Prose readable but never interesting, embedded with excruciating rhetorical questions and banal turns of phrase such as "he shook me till my bones rattled."

Well conceived but poorly imagined, with physical descriptions o...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Sep 15 16:50:44 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 22:18:28 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 16:50:44 -0700 2008 once 5 3 false false Thu Jan 29 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 15:06:07 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 13:08:07 -0800 2009
But this book strikes the ...more...]]> 5 3 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 18 19:03:58 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 20 16:18:01 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 10:10:02 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 11:37:20 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 19:39:49 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 17:04:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 13 16:15:42 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 09 16:56:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 09:59:39 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 10:01:55 -0800 2009 5 1 true false Mon Apr 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 07:19:10 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 21 08:23:35 -0700 2009 1 5 3 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 09:50:21 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 26 06:13:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 17:31:30 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 17:47:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue May 13 12:44:41 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 18 21:17:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1971304