Written By David Benioff
📒What It’s About
The book takes place in war-torn Leningrad and follows a 17 year-old Russian named Lev, a shy chess-loving teenager who when arrested for looting a German soldier is thrust together with the cocky, charismatic Kolya. The pair are given an ultimatum: either find a dozen eggs for a colonel of the NKVD or be killed.
🧠 Thoughts
♥️ What I Liked About It
The pacing of the book was really good, there was no real dead spots and the story doesn’t outstay it’s welcome, it’s short, sweet and a page-turner. The relationship between the two main characters is the reason to read this book. It’s a fun concept of thrusting two totally different people together who would normally be incompatible but under the stress and pressure of the situations they find themselves in and being with each other constantly a really beautiful relationship blossoms. The escapades they get themselves into are really fun and bizarre as well, all the side characters they meet along the way (and there’s many) are incredibly well realised and add great dynamics to the core characters.
When we meet the 3rd “core character” Vika, she adds a sense of intensity, someone who’s been truly affected by the war, that heightens the high-stakes ending and makes for a more interesting and tense finale. The chapters before the ending are superbly written and are heartbreakingly emotional
💔 What I Didn’t Like About It
So Lev throughout the book is incredibly horny, and while most of the time this makes for really funny dialogue between the two guys and just an ingenious dichotomy between their conversations and the forests and cities they wander through filled with war. It does get a little bit annoying when it seems to be the only thing occupying his mind. I would’ve liked just a little more exploration of his other emotions towards the world around him or how the war has affected the lands they’re walking through. It’s also a little jarring that every female Lev and Kolya meets on their journey is reduced to a sex object, again at some points the dialogue is incredibly smart and shows the absurdity of the male brain in dangerous situations but I would’ve liked to learn more about some of the characters they meet, as what we do find out about them is super interesting.
I also think the final two chapters are very weak and could’ve done with a lot more pages to expand and explore Lev’s emotions at two pivotal moments that are sort of just brushed over. The final chapter as well is just completely rushed and could’ve been better, however I did like where it ended up.
🥰 Who Would Like It?
Any lover of history, especially WWII and Russia, and people who enjoy books about friendship
