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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
The two main characters in this book are ones you will always remember. There are images in this book that will also stay with me forever. It's just that kind of book.
The writing, wit and dialogue are brilliant.
The writing, wit and dialogue are brilliant.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was fine. I know they're both boys but the teenage horniness gets annoying after a while. Predictable ending although the scene with Abendroth and the chess match was decent. The ambience was well executed given the setting. 6/10
Really sucked me in.
Drags you screaming through the hardships and atrocities of WWII in Leningrad, but with more than enough humour and beauty to avoid being depressing.
Drags you screaming through the hardships and atrocities of WWII in Leningrad, but with more than enough humour and beauty to avoid being depressing.
This is basically a story about how Lev, a 17-year old Russian, survives the Siege of Leningrad. I didn't actually like it that much (received it as a gift a few years ago and decided I ought to give it a try), but the plot is original and Benioff writes well.
Parts of City of Thieves were crude, but it is a war-time novel and I'm sure that's how it may have been. It is about Lev Beniov, a boy who lives in Leningrad during the Nazi siege. He is arrested for looting and, instead of being executed, he is given a chance to find a dozen eggs for a Soviet colonel. There are no eggs in the city and supplies are cut off. Lev embarks on adventures into the countryside and behind enemy lines to find these eggs.
I'm a sucker for war-time stories, so I loved this. If you like coming-of-age stories or World War II adventure novels, you'll like this.
I'm a sucker for war-time stories, so I loved this. If you like coming-of-age stories or World War II adventure novels, you'll like this.
Today St. Petersburg's moniker is Venice of the North. Peter the Great brough Italian architects to design the city. Canals meander through the surprisingly un-Russian feeling city. If Moscow defines Russia, St. Petersburg is its counterpoint. St. Petersburg is a city worth saving for the sake of its beauty. Moscow is not.
I've never been in a war, but family members have. War is raw, vulgar, rough. It brings out the best and worst of humanity. Can one know the level of evil or sacrifice humans are able to achieve outside of the desperation of war?
David Benioff explores those limits in City of Thieves. The most core human needs and desires are spilled out in plain view. No flowery prose or delicate love story in these pages. Just as Russians tend to get down to business, David paints his picture of war in black and white. While unique metaphors provoke pause and consideration. A uniquely human view of Leningrad's attempted capture from someone on the inside.
A surprisingly redeeming read.
I've never been in a war, but family members have. War is raw, vulgar, rough. It brings out the best and worst of humanity. Can one know the level of evil or sacrifice humans are able to achieve outside of the desperation of war?
David Benioff explores those limits in City of Thieves. The most core human needs and desires are spilled out in plain view. No flowery prose or delicate love story in these pages. Just as Russians tend to get down to business, David paints his picture of war in black and white. While unique metaphors provoke pause and consideration. A uniquely human view of Leningrad's attempted capture from someone on the inside.
A surprisingly redeeming read.
It's hard to say you enjoyed a book that has so many terribly depressing aspects to it. Still, the writing is excellent, allowing you to experience shocking circumstances, feel you know the characters, and learn a little history at the same time. I knew next to nothing - actually, nothing - about the siege of Leningrad, and the experience of the Russian people during WWII; and though it probably was not the author's intent, I found myself worrying (again) about what could happen to us in the US right now, comparing our attitudes to those of the Russians at that time.
I couldn't stop reading, though I found myself longing for some amusing Chick Lit as I read myself to sleep each night. Recommended for others who feel they need a periodic wake-up call over how soft we've become.
I couldn't stop reading, though I found myself longing for some amusing Chick Lit as I read myself to sleep each night. Recommended for others who feel they need a periodic wake-up call over how soft we've become.
Four (conflicted) stars. We read this for book club at my behest and had I known how crass it would be, maybe I wouldn't have pushed for it. However, this was a very incredible tale, though I wish the absurd amount of horniness, was left out.
I loved Kolya in all his silliness and bravery and quick wit.
Though this is a work of fiction, I know that most of the surrounding landscape is accurately taken from what actually happened in Russia during the war. I cannot imagine the despair and tragedy during this time. The library candy, the cannibals, the bombings and starvation.... Any time I read historical fiction from this time period, regardless of what country it is based in, I am astounded by the resilience of human beings. How they mange to live and carry on when to do so seems utterly hopeless. We are blessed for how we all are currently living.
I loved Kolya in all his silliness and bravery and quick wit.
Though this is a work of fiction, I know that most of the surrounding landscape is accurately taken from what actually happened in Russia during the war. I cannot imagine the despair and tragedy during this time. The library candy, the cannibals, the bombings and starvation.... Any time I read historical fiction from this time period, regardless of what country it is based in, I am astounded by the resilience of human beings. How they mange to live and carry on when to do so seems utterly hopeless. We are blessed for how we all are currently living.