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Check It Out: City of Theives

I love Audiobooks.  Having someone read me a story, even as an adult, is one of my favorite things. I suggest you check out City of Thieves by David Benioff and narrated by Golden Globe winning actor Ron Perlman.

[David Benioff is an American novelist, screenwriter, producer, and co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones.  City of Thieves is a novel based on his grandfather’s stories about surviving World War II in Russia.]

The story takes place in Soviet Leningrad in 1941, after the Germans have circled the City, starving what is left of its citizens. Though his mother and sister have evacuated the city, 17 year-old Lev stays behind, answering his country’s call for every able-bodied man to defend Leningrad.  Out after curfew, Lev is caught by the NKVD--the Soviet Secret police, and thrown into prison, awaiting what he assumes will be his execution. 

In the prison, he meets Kolya, a charismatic and handsome young soldier, charged with desertion after trying to meet up with a girl.  Instead of execution, Lev and Kolya are granted a seemingly impossible chance to save their own lives--they have five days to bring back a dozen eggs to the NKVD Colonel--for his daughter’s wedding cake. 

Lev and Kolya find nothing but trouble on the dangerous streets of Leningrad--a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, so they set out into the enemy occupied countryside.  In their action-packed quest, they are exposed to the devastation and atrocities that come as a result of War; but along the way, they develop an unlikely friendship and unbreakable bond.

[Golden Globe-winning actor Ron Perlman, most recently known for his role on the TV series, Sons of Anarchy, narrates this novel.  His gravelly narration is crisp, distinctly voiced and unhurried and his character accents help to transport the reader to this other place in time.]

Stop by the Sioux City Public Library to check out City of Thieves by David Benioff, or let us help you find your next great book--or Audiobook!

Support for Check It Out comes from Avery Brothers.

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