City of Thieves in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 27, 2013 mussolet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: language-english, rating-5stars-fiction-nf, fav-read-2013, region-europe, theme-war, g-historical-fiction, with-thieves, 2021-sorted, 2021-switch-edition, 2024-shelf-challenge

There are a lot of books about WWII out there, and for quite some time now I have been wary of reading them. Sometimes because I tend to shy away from authors writing about countries they don't know, sometimes because the story seems to be just too generic, sometimes even because, as important a subject as it is, you can discuss something too much.
The premise of the book intrigued me, but I still had my doubts. I've not had many luck with "intriguing" books in the past. I finally caved in though There are a lot of books about WWII out there, and for quite some time now I have been wary of reading them. Sometimes because I tend to shy away from authors writing about countries they don't know, sometimes because the story seems to be just too generic, sometimes even because, as important a subject as it is, you can discuss something too much.
The premise of the book intrigued me, but I still had my doubts. I've not had many luck with "intriguing" books in the past. I finally caved in though, and now I'm glad that I did.

Like many others, the author has clearly done a lot of research, and if you want to learn about that period in history, the book works quite well. What sets this book apart though is the great focus.
The story deals with two boys on a mission in besieged Leningrad, and anything else is mentioned in passing. This intense focus helps the reader to keep track of the story as well, even when something horrifying happens.

Lev and Kolya are great characters to spend time with, and while this book clearly details a part of the author's personal history, he manages to create believable boys (young men) with interesting character arcs. The fact that they're two boys growing up means that they're childish at times, ridiculous at times, flirtatious at times and usually quite energetic. This puts them in stark contrast to the harsh reality of their background.

Leningrad at this time was a city suffering from war and from having been besieged for a long time. Add to that the extreme Russian climate, and you get an idea of the circumstances in that place. David Benioff does a great job at describing the places he takes you to without judging or pointing a finger at someone. People suffering from the cold, dying from starvation, trying to protect their loved ones in an uncontrolled environment - and two young adults, searching for eggs and girls and everything else. This is a great mix, delicately handled, and I would recommend it whole-heartedly.

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