It should not be so hard to write both poetry and fiction. Both arts, after all, make use of the same materials, words and punctuation. Poems...
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City of Thieves hurled me into WWII Russia at the time of the siege of St. Petersburg. One short week in the life of a scrawny 17 year old Jewish boy held me spellbound, barely breathing. I found myself wondering how anyone in Russia survived the war at all. But despite details of starvation and terrifying circumstances, there is humor in this story; comradeship, love, lust, introspection, courage, as well as the hatred and evil that stands out so sharply in wartime. I learned more from this historical fiction thriller than I would have retained if I were reading historical non-fiction. This is a coming of age story of such intensity and refinement that one comes away finally feeling wrung out and yet deeply satisfied at being led through such a full story, so superbly told.
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City of Thieves: A Novel by David Benioff
Roseamber R. Sumner, October 13, 2008
City of Thieves hurled me into WWII Russia at the time of the siege of St. Petersburg. One short week in the life of a scrawny 17 year old Jewish boy held me spellbound, barely breathing. I found myself wondering how anyone in Russia survived the war at all. But despite details of starvation and terrifying circumstances, there is humor in this story; comradeship, love, lust, introspection, courage, as well as the hatred and evil that stands out so sharply in wartime. I learned more from this historical fiction thriller than I would have retained if I were reading historical non-fiction. This is a coming of age story of such intensity and refinement that one comes away finally feeling wrung out and yet deeply satisfied at being led through such a full story, so superbly told.(7 of 10 readers found this comment helpful)