Book Review: The City of Thieves, David Benioff

         Mr. Benioff is well known for his adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novels that became the basis of HBO's  Game of Thrones.  He has worked with director Spike lee on his adaptation of his book,  The 25th Hour.  He knows his way around a page of writing.
      This novel testifies to his skill as a writer.   It is a story loosely based on stories told to him by his grandfather who survived WW II in Russya.   This story is a quest-  2 young men(one a teenager) are given a task by a powerful local police official in Leningrad during the Nazi siege period of late 1941 to January, 1944 when it was broken.   The two unlikely companions met in jail one night after being caught in the streets after curfew.  The next day, the commander offered them a deal( no choice really):  in 1 week, return here with 1 dozen fresh chicken eggs and you will be set free.  No excuses: eggs or else.  And off they go in a very cold winter landscape that will eventually force them to infiltrate the German army lines to scrounge for eggs.
       Eventually,  they find a group of partisans who will help them for awhile.  One of that group is a young woman who is a noted sniper.   They are searching for a Nazi killer who operates in the area.  Against this picture, the Russyan soldier and the teenaged Jewish boy become friends as his more experienced partner explains the ways of the world.
      All of this exists in the environment of subzero cold, endless walking in the frozen forest, the constant threat of discovery by Nazi soldiers, and the slim chance of finding the elusive dozen eggs.  Benioff writes briskly- short declarations that explain mood. motives, and scenarios.  His descriptions of the western approaches to Leningrad expose the conditions faced by both antagonists: one trying to survive against all odds, the other trying to survive the winter atthe end of the army's supply lines.
The combat includes only short encounters between units that are not really on the front lines but in the rear areas where the role is to prevent partisans from causing havoc among the supply troops.
     The ending leaves one a bit short, but it is more than fitting.   Benioff comments that he relied heavily on a couple of books:  Harrison Salisbury's The 900 Days, and the Italian Curzio Malaparte's
Kaputt.
      The book is a quick read and hard to put down.  Well worth the effort and time.
5 Stars *****