Arrested, and awaiting execution during the siege of Leningrad, Lev and Kolya are instead sent on an outrageous quest. A powerful colonel insists that they secure a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake. The author's portrayal of the desolation of Leningrad is heartbreaking, the city as much a character in this darkly comic novel as his hapless protagonists. This gem of a book is thoroughly absorbing, an entertaining and yet surprisingly profound read.

As wise and funny as it is thrilling and original—the story of two young men on an impossible adventure

A writer visits his retired grandparents in Florida to document their experience during the infamous siege of Leningrad. His grandmother won’t talk about it, but his grandfather reluctantly consents. The result is the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds.

Lev Beniov considers himself “built for deprivation.” He’s small, smart, and insecure, a Jewish virgin too young for the army, who spends his nights working as a volunteer firefighter with friends from his building. When a dead German paratrooper lands in his street, Lev is caught looting the body and dragged to jail, fearing for his life. He shares his cell with the charismatic and grandiose Kolya, a handsome young soldier arrested on desertion charges. Instead of the standard bullet in the back of the head, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt to find the impossible. A search that takes them through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and the devastated surrounding countryside creates an unlikely bond between this earnest, lust-filled teenager and an endearing lothario with the gifts of a conman. Set within the monumental events of history, City of Thieves is an intimate coming-of-age tale with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.

“The novel tells a refreshingly traditional tale, driven by an often ingenious plot…. He shifts tone with perfect control—no recent novel I’ve read travels so quickly and surely between registers, from humor to devastation….”
—New York Times Book Review

“City of Thieves is a coming-of-age story brilliantly amplified by its worn-torn backdrop. Benioff’s finest achievement in City of Thieves has been to banish all possible pretensions from his novel, which never wears its research on its sleeve, and to deliver a rough-and-tumble tale that clenches humor, savagery, and pathos squarely together on the same page.”
—Washington Post

“Benioff has produced a funny, sad, and thrilling novel.”
—Entertainment Weekly, A-

“This spellbinding story perfectly blends tragedy and comedy.”
-USA Today

“Written with a skeptical eye but enormous tenderness…. Benioff blends humor and horror expertly.”
-San Francisco Chronicle

“City of Thieves is flat-out great. Benioff’s screen writing chops are in full force here—the plot careens along with cinematic verve—but that’s expected. The surprise is Benioff’s understated wisdom and tenderness.”
- Men’s Journal

David Benioff is an author and screenwriter. His first novel, The 25th Hour, was adapted into a popular feature film. His short story collection, When the Nines Roll Over, received critical acclaim.

Imprint: Viking Adult
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 05-15-2008
Pages: 272
Measurements: 9.26in X 6.26in X 0.99in X 1.03lb