Book review: 'City of Thieves' by David Benioff

By Meghan Nuckolls

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The novel itself is shrouded in mystery, marketed as fiction but printed with the compelling first chapter of David Benioff’s interview with his possibly nonfictional, knife-fighting grandfather. Benioff pulled his comment thanking his grandfather for “the late-night calls” and similar elements from the reprinting and is now claiming his ingenious plot was invented.

Whether the events that span the novel City of Thieves actually occurred for one man or not, Benioff’s in-depth research of the city of Leningrad and it’s starving Russian people during the Nazi’s siege weave together a community’s story of survival. The protagonist, Lev, a Jewish teenager arrested for looting a German corpse, must survive by stealing something much more precious than money: a dozen eggs for the Colonel’s beloved daughter’s wedding. Lev and Koyla, a handsome and charming deserter charged with the same task, have a week to find their treasure and win back their ration cards—their keys to food and, therefore, to life.

As the pair traverses war-torn Russia, escaping cannibals and crossing enemy lines, they are ultimately introduced to the atrocities of the war and the depth of the human spirit. Benoiff masterfully navigates the emotions of adolescence, as well as the scenes of devastation, hope and loss, while leaving the story with a sense of believability.

His ability to touch everything with a gentle humor helps to make the book a coming of age novel and a love story. How much of the book is nonfiction, and in the broader scheme of things, how much of non-fiction is invented, Benoiff leaves the reader to ponder. Readers will not be disappointed by Benoiff’s latest blockbuster.

4 out of 4 stars

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