City of Thieves

During the Siege of Leningrad, teenaged Lev, the Jewish chess prodigy son of a “disappeared” poet, is arrested for looting the body of a fallen German soldier. He is locked up with Kolya, a garrulous, slightly older Red Army deserter. Together, they are taken before a secret police colonel, who offers them their lives and extra rations if they can locate a dozen eggs for the colonel’s daughter’s wedding cake. Their search for the eggs in war-torn “Piter” brings them into contact with cannibals, partisans, German death squads, and other hapless individuals. Along the way, the introverted, virginal Lev and the outgoing, lecherous Kolya form a strange and enduring friendship.

Published between his auspicious debut (The 25^th Hour) and his ascendency as showrunner of Game of Thrones, David Benioff’s second novel is a lot more fun than it has any right to be. As the setting suggests, there is no shortage of gloom and doom. Starvation is widespread, parts of Leningrad are in ruins, the murderous Nazis are advancing, and a quintessentially Russian fatalism permeates the novel from beginning to end. But amid all this death and despair, we are treated to a menagerie of toilet humor, sex jokes, shaggy dog stories, and coal-black farce. That, coupled with tight pacing and largely likeable protagonists, makes City of Thieves an immensely entertaining read.

Benoiff brings a screenwriter’s sensibility to the novel, which makes for some snappy banter between Lev (the straight man), Kolya (the obliviously absurd), and others that they meet. This cinematic quality is also present in the build-up to and execution of certain pivotal scenes. Be it the harrowing escape from a cannibals’ den or an assassination plot that revolves around a chess match, there is a fluidity here and a capacity for sudden, shocking violence that foreshadows some of A Game of Thrones’ more visceral moments.

If City of Thieves has one weak spot, it is that it is predictable in places. We know that Lev survives the ordeal as he narrates from a frame story, but astute readers will see far more coming in advance. However, this occasional familiarity is offset by Benioff’s willingness to change gears and alter tones and moods. Hilarious and haunting, breezy and bold, City of Thieves is an egg-cellent read.

8.25/10