82 pages • 2 hours read
David BenioffCity of Thieves
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 4-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary
Lev and Kolya are released from the colonel’s headquarters and begin their quest by walking back to the city. Leningrad is a shadow of its former self, and the only people they see are pale and fragile. Kolya considers escape but realizes they cannot survive without their ration cards. Lev, sensible and rational, suggests they simply focus on finding the eggs. Kolya agrees, and they head to the Haymarket in hope of meeting black market traders.
Lev does not like the arrogant Kolya, who considers himself sexually and intellectually superior, even though he is only three years older than Lev. Kolya suggests that they accept their fate and become friends, claiming that he can teach Lev what he needs to know: “About girls, yes. About literature. About chess” (64). Lev remains skeptical about his new friend.
Chapter 5 Summary
Since the siege began, the Haymarket has seen its affluent shops close down, and the area is now a haven for buyers and sellers, trading whatever they possess in exchange for the meager food on offer. Kolya approaches the vendors with his usual overconfident and provocative manner, but to no avail: No one has had eggs since last September, though someone claims an old man near the Narva Gate has chickens.
Exhausted and frustrated with Kolya, Lev is about to go home to the Kirov for the night when he is approached by a man who offers to sell them eggs but insists that they must go into a derelict building with him. Lev is aware that they are putting their lives in danger but recognizes that they have little to lose: “We were risking our lives walking into the building, but if we didn’t find the eggs soon, we were dead anyway” (86).
They immediately realize they have entered the home of a cannibal and his wife, as there are various gruesome—and unmistakably human—body parts hanging from the ceiling. Lev attempts to use the German knife to defend himself, while Kolya hits the cannibal’s wife and tells Lev to run. Just as Lev’s conscience persuades him to turn back, Kolya escapes, and they run out of the building together. Every time Lev trips or stumbles, “Kolya’s hand [is] there to steady” him (90).
After flagging down an army car and reporting their near-miss with death, they are even more shocked by the soldiers’ response: “There are cannibals in every building […] Welcome to Leningrad” (91).
Chapter 6 Summary
Both Lev and Kolya are traumatized by what they saw in the cannibals’ home, but they try to move on with their quest. Lev is consumed with guilt for running away and leaving the unarmed Kolya to deal with the cannibals; he is also full of admiration for Kolya’s calm reaction, which saved his life.
They walk to Lev’s home, the Kirov, intending to spend the night and find some food there. Sadly, there is another shock for Lev when they discover that the building has been bombed and now lies in ruins. Lev feels that he has lost everything.
Chapters 4-6 Analysis
These chapters are particularly significant in terms of the development of the relationship between Lev and Kolya. As they begin their quest, the differences and tensions between the two men become apparent. Kolya’s apparent buoyancy, boastfulness, and outspoken nature contrast with, and exacerbate, Lev’s shy reserve and seriousness. Lev is particularly aggravated when Kolya asks about his father and comments on his Jewish background. Kolya is also preoccupied with discussing the subject of his thesis, the novel The Courtyard Hound by Ushakovo, and he displays an angry side whenever Ushakovo’s literary talents are questioned.
As Lev and Kolya make their way round the Haymarket, however, Lev reflects on Kolya’s ability to handle frightening situations with apparent ease. Though he is still exasperated, he expresses begrudging admiration, nothing that “there was nothing behind Kolya’s blue eyes, neither fear nor anger nor excitement about the prospect of a fight—nothing. This, I came to learn, was his gift: danger made him calm (75).
A few minutes later, when they find themselves in the home of a cannibal, Lev realizes that Kolya possesses true strength and heroism, as he risks his own life so Lev can escape first and then provides a calming presence as they exit the building together. This incident is the catalyst that sparks friendship between the boys, and that strengthened connection supports the novel’s theme about male bonds as well as survival during war. Kolya’s support of Lev—both in attacking the cannibal’s wife and in steadying Lev when he falters during their escape—indicates that the two young men are committed to staying alive and completing this quest together.
Chapter 6 confirms their newfound loyalty to each other, as it depicts how Lev and Kolya’s shared experience of trauma brings them together, encouraging free-flowing conversation and a mutual understanding of what is left unsaid: “That is the way we decided to talk, free and easy, two young men discussing a boxing match […] You couldn’t let too much truth seep into your conversation, you couldn’t admit with your mouth what your eyes had seen” (93).
