City of Thieves (novel)
Encyclopedia
City of Thieves is a historical fiction
novel by David Benioff. Both a coming of age story and a comedy, City of Thieves recounts the adventures of two young adults in Leningrad
as they search for a carton of eggs for an NKVD
colonel during the Nazi
siege of the city
during World War II
.
. Seventeen year old Lev Beniov lives alone in an apartment in Leningrad
, (which the narrator refers to as "Piter," the nickname residents use for their city) as his poet father was recently disappeared by the secret police and his mother and sister have fled the besieged city. Lev is arrested for looting the body of an ejected Luftwaffe pilot. Sent to the Crosses prison, Lev meets Kolya Vlasov, a young soldier arrested for deserting his unit. Though just three years older than Lev, Kolya is more cultured and refined than Lev.
Lev and Kolya are brought to an NKVD colonel who barters with the two: if they are able to obtain a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's upcoming wedding, the two will be given their freedom. If they are unable to find the eggs, a luxury during the impoverished siege years, both will lose their lives. Lev and Kolya seek out the eggs, and in the meantime come across an assorted cast of characters, including cannibals, Nazi sex slaves, and a group of Russian partisans
. Eventually, Lev and Kolya allow themselves to be taken prisoner within a larger group of captured Russians in order to kill an SS Officer and gain the coveted dozen eggs.
Historical fiction
Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional...
novel by David Benioff. Both a coming of age story and a comedy, City of Thieves recounts the adventures of two young adults in Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
as they search for a carton of eggs for an NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
colonel during the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
siege of the city
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Plot
The story as introduced is the recollections of a contemporary Russian émigré living in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Seventeen year old Lev Beniov lives alone in an apartment in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, (which the narrator refers to as "Piter," the nickname residents use for their city) as his poet father was recently disappeared by the secret police and his mother and sister have fled the besieged city. Lev is arrested for looting the body of an ejected Luftwaffe pilot. Sent to the Crosses prison, Lev meets Kolya Vlasov, a young soldier arrested for deserting his unit. Though just three years older than Lev, Kolya is more cultured and refined than Lev.
Lev and Kolya are brought to an NKVD colonel who barters with the two: if they are able to obtain a dozen eggs for the colonel's daughter's upcoming wedding, the two will be given their freedom. If they are unable to find the eggs, a luxury during the impoverished siege years, both will lose their lives. Lev and Kolya seek out the eggs, and in the meantime come across an assorted cast of characters, including cannibals, Nazi sex slaves, and a group of Russian partisans
Soviet partisans
The Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
. Eventually, Lev and Kolya allow themselves to be taken prisoner within a larger group of captured Russians in order to kill an SS Officer and gain the coveted dozen eggs.