Teaser Tuesday: City of Thieves by David Benioff

I’m working on telling the story of my father’s WW II experience. It’s a saga really that covers two generations and will be three books when completed. I’m going to tell the story two ways. One will be a memoir. The other will be a fictional account of the story. Because I’m writing a war story about an 18 yr old boy who becomes a man during wartime, I’m reading great examples of similar historical fiction. CITY OF THIEVES by David Benioff is a fabulous read for anyone who is interested in just such a story. Because of the protagonist’s age, the book could be classified as YA. But it’s really for a very broad audience. David Benioff is a great writer and has a great gift for detail. He has also written screenplays. I noticed not too long ago that he writes for The Game of Thrones series out on HBO. I love the series. Anyway, here is an excerpt from CITY OF THIEVES that took my breath away. Enjoy!

Here’s a little description from the back of the book: “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.” Kolya loves to quote what he says is a very famous novel. That is what he is doing here:

Kolya cleared his throat and switched to his declamatory tone.

“Talent must be a fanatical mistress. She’s beautiful; when you’re with her, people watch you, they notice. But she bangs on your door at odd hours, and she disappears for long stretches, and she has no patience for the rest of your existence: your wife, your children, your friends. She is the most thrilling evening of your week, but some day she will leave you for good. One night, after she’s been gone for years, you will see her on the arm of a younger man, and she will pretend not to recognize you.”