City of Thieves: A Novel [Paperback]

From the critically acclaimed author ofThe 25th HourandWhen the Nines Roll Overand co-creator of the HBO series Game of Thrones, a captivating novel about war, courage, survival — and a remarkable friendship that ripples across a lifetime.

During the Nazis’ brutal siege of Leningrad, Lev Beniov is arrested for looting and thrown into the same cell as a handsome deserter named Kolya. Instead of being executed, Lev and Kolya are given a shot at saving their own lives by complying with an outrageous directive: secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet colonel to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. In a city cut off from all supplies and suffering unbelievable deprivation, Lev and Kolya embark on a hunt through the dire lawlessness of Leningrad and behind enemy lines to find the impossible.

By turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying, theNew York TimesbestsellerCity of Thievesis a gripping, cinematic World War II adventure and an intimate coming-of-age story with an utterly contemporary feel for how boys become men.“The novel tells a refreshingly traditional tale, driven by an often ingenious plot . . . [Benioff] shifts tone with perfect control - no recent novel I have read travels so quickly and surely between registers, from humor to devastation.”
-The New York Times Book Review

“This spellbinding story perfectly blends tragedy and comedy.”
-USA Today

“Splendid . . . Benioff has produced a funny, sad, and thrilling novel.” 
-Entertainment Weekly(Grade: A-)

“Benioff blends humor and horror expertly.” 
-San Francisco Chronicle

“A deft storyteller, Benioff writes about starvation, cannibalism, and Nazi atrocities with poise and cinematic flair. IfThieveswere a movie, it would start out likeSchindler’sl£§