City of Thieves

City of Thieves by David Benioff was recommended on a book blog that I follow. I generally like her suggestions and am still, apparently, on a historical fiction kick. So....here we go!

This book tells the tale of Lev Beniov, member of the Russian army, during World War II. He is caught stealing, which he didn't actually do, and thrown into the Crossings, a type of jail. Here he meets Kolya, who has been jailed for being a deserter. The Colonel takes a special interest in these two and tasks them with finding a dozen eggs to make his daughter's wedding cake. In exchange for the eggs, they will be freed from jail and allowed to live. Eggs, during wartime, are impossible to come by. Thus the journey begins. Along the way, Lev and Kolya meeting interesting characters, are nearly killed on more than one occasion, and fight to survive the frigid Russian winter settling around them while trying to tolerate each other and perhaps, become friends.

City of Thieves was a nice departure from some of my usual reads. Benioff does some good story telling and creates curious characters for the reader to discover. I really enjoyed the relationship between Lev and Kolya that formed in such a short span of time on their hunt for eggs. Fast read but worth a shot.

Rating: * * *