Let the book blogging resume with: City Of Thieves!

I bought this book a few years ago when my neighborhood Borders Bookstore (r.i.p.) was closing.  Back then, I was working at my first post graduate job and rarely bought books because $15 was too hefty for me.  When I found out that Border was parting with all their books for like $3 EACH, boy did I haul on over!! And now a bunch of these poor suckers are sitting in my TBR pile.

Kept the Borders sticker on for feels :'(

The premise of the book also the $3 price made me snatch this one off the almost barren shelf: looter Lev Beniov is arrested and isolated in a cell with "handsome deserter" Kolya.  Really? "Handsome"?  Actually, his handsomeness/charm becomes super significant.  Lev is convinced that they're going to be executed, except the Soviet colonel in charge gives them a crazy impossible mission in the dead of winter, in a very starved Russia: obtain a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake.  Or DIE.

I expected the book to start off with Lev's dilemma, but it surprisingly starts off with the author's perspective, and it is revealed that Lev is his grandfather and David is asking him about the War.  The first thing you notice about "grandfather Lev" is his missing left index finger, so spoilers right there.  Lev most likely accomplishes his mission (maybe?) but at great cost.

Loving the book so far!  The setting is grim, but Kolya (whose handsomeness is described in great detail) is indeed very charming when he's not obsessing over his lack of bowel movements and has great chemistry with Lev.  He's exactly what Lev isn't: tall, aryan, fit, extroverted, confident, a scholar; as opposed to Lev, who is scrawny, clearly Jewish, introverted, socially awkward and the timid son of a famous (most likely executed) poet.  Yet it's their shared passion for literature and common mission/doom that chains them together.

"You're spitting on me"

"Well, you deserved to be spat on."

I continued walking south and Kolya, irritated as he was, soon fell into stride.  Fate had shoved us together, that seemed beyond argument.  Until Thursday, we were married.

To be continued...