April 5, 2011 - 2:09pm
Book of the Week: 'City of Thieves'
BY ANDREW LAPIN
It’s difficult to remember while buried knee-deep in work that it’s okay to occasionally read books for pleasure, instead of for a class assignment. This weekly book feature will help remind you. This week’s book is “City of Thieves,” a violent and darkly funny World War II fable by David Benioff. And if you think a Michigan winter is bad, try spending the season buried in the snow of the siege of Leningrad.
The book follows David’s grandfather Lev as a teenager, who is arrested for stealing from a dead German paratrooper, and Kolya, a Russian army deserter. The two prisoners are given a shot at freedom if they can track down a dozen eggs for a colonel’s daughter’s wedding cake. Of course, in the poverty-and-ash-stricken wasteland of the city, there are no eggs to be found. So Lev and Kolya traverse the countryside on their maddening quest, encountering cannibals and whorehouses, eventually being taken prisoner by the Nazis. Benioff, who also wrote “The 25th Hour,” uses his remarkable storytelling skills to make the vibrant characters and setting pop off the pages, which never stop turning as you barrel through this brief-but-beautiful book.
Thanks to my flat mate, Jason Bies, for the recommendation. I blasted through it in two days. Do yourself a favor and read “City of Thieves.”
