City of Thieves by David Benioff
I am so thankful for this banana I am eating currently and this book shall make you feel the same.

Following an unlikely duo of a poet looter and a handsome deserter through a tale of war in the city of Leningrad, David Benioff’s City of …more Thieves delivers a page turning story and outstandingly hearty characters.

Lev the poet and Kolya the heartthrob are bonded together by a ridiculous mission with upon completion they will be spared execution even though the mission itself is basically a death sentence. Mission: in a city under Nazi siege and suffering from dyer hunger, find a dozen eggs for the wedding of the colonel’s daughter. Trudging into enemy lines during the brutal winter of Russia, the pair encounters many close calls of the Nazi persuasion, meet’s up with an fire-haired, Archangel girl sniper who stirs the love interests of the poet and play’s a life or death chess game with the atrocious commandeer of the feared Einsatzgruppe all the while searching for a dozen of precious eggs.

Most impressive is how well Benioff portrays the absolute hunger the surviving citizens of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) endured and the will of human nature to survive even through such adversity. Hunger is a bitch, quite frankly, and he describes it well.

This is one of those books where you never forget its ending.

This book is outstanding. Read it, eat a large meal, and appreciate that meal. (less)