Tolog Review: City of Thieves

City Of Thieves
by David Benioff
reviewed by Natalia Cruz

The rousing novel City Of Thieves by David Benioff is about two young men who never thought that their meeting will bring them into a strange, life changing adventure. The story is historical comedy, which means that the novel is told surrounding real historic events, with mentions of humor and wit from the characters or events that occur in the novel. The novel follows Lev and Kolya on their desperate journey as they try to find a carton of eggs for an NKVD general’s daughter. The novel is set during World War II, with struggles of the Nazi’s invading Russia and starvation in every man on the street.

Lev, a seventeen year old boy living in the Kirov, Russia, being half Russian and half Jew, has many self doubts about himself, and the reader can see every negative thought he developes. World War II has taken its toll on Russia and his own life, leaving him and a few of his fellow friends to watch the rooftops every night. One night, his life changes the moment a dead German parachuted down into his street. After being caught looting the dead German, Lev is brought to a cell, where he encounters Kolya, a confident, witty, and charming twenty year old Cossack soldier, brought in for abandoning his unit. After spending a night in a cell, the two are brought to a general who demands a dozen eggs to be delivered to him in five days in exchange for their freedom and food. With no better choice, the pair heads off with no information on eggs anywhere near, how to retrieve them, or how to survive the many risks of strolling the harsh streets of Soviet controlled Russia. 

The two men discover more and more about each other as their journey to find the eggs evolve. Lev was intimidated by Kolya because he had so much more experience in life and women. Lev was always too afraid to charge into situations, while Kolya stayed calm and collected. We see into Levs thoughts, “I was seventeen and stupid and believed him” (Benioff 99). Lev ended up seeing Kolya as a role model, although ignoring much of the daring words Kolya speaks. The pair find each other in many difficult and run-ins with life threatening situations, until they eventually get caught in the middle of a prisoner chain, led by Germans, unsure of how they will retrieved their eggs in time without being shot and killed. 

The book was intriguing to read, making me wanting to read page after page. The author described thoroughly what it would have been like to live during World War II, with no clue when your next meal or bite of food would be, what it would be like to freeze in the harsh snowy weather, and to be surrounded by Germans speaking in a foreign language, possibly discussing your death sentence. Lev tells us through his thoughts, “My boot sank deep into a mound of soft snow and I nearly turned my ankle” (Benioff 159). By seeing Lev’s perspective, we can visually imagine, using the adjectives from the novel, what it was like trudging along, tired and cold. Benioff used many German words and common Russian phrases, giving the reader a full experience as they really see what life was like in Russia in the 1940’s. The novel was both comedic and touching. The bond between the two men would last forever, and the fact that two men were brought together and kept each other strong during the darkest of times kept the novel heartwarming and authentic. I enjoyed every second of reading the novel. It kept me entertained and filled with excitement as I followed the story along. I would definitely recommend this novel to someone if they are interested in World War II based stories.