City of Thieves

In City of Thieves, author David Benioff uses the unlikely friendship between two teenage boys on orders to find a dozen eggs to tell a larger story of the absurdities of war and humankind's seemingly endless capacity for cruelty.

In order for me to like a book, I've found that I need to like the characters. In sexually inexperienced and self-conscious narrator Lev and sexually confident and dashingly handsome Kolya, Benioff presents characters who are each other's opposite, and yet who are equally likable and charming. He fulfilled my requirement immediately and with ease, and I was able to delve into the story.

Despite its violence, City of Thieves is marked by warmth and humor. The nightmare of war is amplified by Lev's innocence, but his kind and gentle nature keeps the book readable and strangely upbeat.

Some scenes, however, were difficult for me to get through, regardless of how much I enjoyed Lev's voice. The story of Zoya, the 14-year-old sex slave, was particularly challenging, and I had to set the book aside for a while. More than what happened to Zoya, it was the pleasure her tormentors found in her pain that disturbed me.

Overall, I enjoyed reading City of Thieves, but I struggled with what I felt was a change of pace at the end. The final chapters felt theatrical to me, compared with Benioff's earlier descriptions, which were vivid but felt natural. The last pages read like a movie script, which isn't off-base given that Benioff is a screenwriter, but I felt a twinge of disappointment at the drama.

That aside, I enjoyed the rest of the novel so much that I added Benioff's debut novel, The 25th Hour, to my list.

Born Standing Up

After reading his memoir, Born Standing Up, I have developed a talent-crush on Steve Martin. He is a banjo player, a magician, a comedian, an actor, a writer - the man has skills.

As a relatively new fan of Martin's work, it's difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that his stand-up career (which he refers to as the "war years") began and ended before I was born.

I knew Martin was a comedian as I was reading - and loving - Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, but I didn't know the specifics of his repertoire... Happy Feet, the arrow through the head, King Tut, etc. I also didn't know that he was a victim of physical abuse as a child, worked at Disneyland for quite a few years, and suffered from panic attacks during his stand-up career.

I like Steve Martin because he is admittedly shy. He seems pretty OK with his celebrity status, but at the same time he was reluctant to give up the more intimate aspects of his early days, such as taking his audience on impromptu field trips. For as much experience as he has had, I like how down-to-earth and level-headed he seems.

Martin's even keel comes across in his writing. He is observant, thoughtful, and precise with words. If you are a Steve Martin fan, I would highly recommend Born Standing Up, especially on audio book so you can hear Martin read his own words, as well as play the banjo.

Nerve Damage

Continuing my readerly support of local author Peter Abrahams, I read Nerve Damage, a thriller in which a terminally ill widower seeks to uncover the mystery behind his deceased wife's secret past.

Nerve Damage is my fourth Abrahams book, and I liked it. Thrillers are not my usual choice, but I've found Abrahams' books to be fast reads and great escapes. I like to read them on rainy days or before bed, when I want to relax and unwind.

I've Also Read:

Delusion
Into the Dark (Echo Falls Mystery #3 for young adults)
Dog on It: A Chet & Bernie Mystery (written as Spencer Quinn)