The last book I loved is CITY OF THIEVES by David Benioff. I loved it for a simple, yet powerful reason: it transported me. I was on a 15.5 hour flight to Hong Kong and I read the novel in one partially reclined sitting. I needed a novel to eat away the time and this did it. It’s an improbable story about a seventeen-year-old boy fighting for survival in the siege of Leningrad. (He’s also in desperate pursuit of a dozen eggs.) Benioff knows how to plot a novel, while also using irony and clear, memorable language to depict the horrors (and black comedies) of war. The ending is a little too tidy for my taste, but it’s not a reason to dismiss the novel. If you’re ever in the mood for a book that will overwhelm you with sheer storytelling, this is it. If you have a long flight, get yourself a copy.
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