City+of+Thieves


 * Discussion Time:**
 * Thursday****, January 19,** **11:10-12:40 (4W)**

Drew Grout Daniel Keliher Abby Vogel Kevin Haley Sam Beaulieu Lynn Hynes
 * Group Members:**

City of Thieves Agenda

Pre-Discussion Information: Lev: Main character, teen, Leningrad resident, confused about love Kolya: Wrapped up in literature, Abandoned the army Vika: Partisan sniper, fond of Lev, very independent
 * Characters: **

Set in and around Leningrad (or Piter) during the 900 day (847) siege of Leningrad during the Second World War. The goal of the German siege was to break the back of the Russian people, which they very nearly did. Most are starving, hardly able to live off of meager rations and reduced to eating glue that bound books together. Although we get the feeling of great pride still in the city among the Soviets. Of course, that was instilled by both a cultural resilience and state run propaganda.
 * Setting: **

i. Lev’s arrest for “looting” and his encounter with NKVD Colonel Gretchko ii. Meeting with the partisan army and Vika iii. Final Chess game and escape
 * Three Major Plot Events: **

Finding the eggs being the driving factor for why they leave Leningrad In the end, survival, surviving the siege, starvation, the cold, and the Germans. Dealing with the struggles of growing up and becoming an adult
 * Conflict: **

Lev looking back at past events in his life. From the first bombing and finding the dead airborne soldier to meeting Vika again after the War.
 * Narration: **

As Lev moves through his journey searching for eggs, he grows up, becomes more independent, and falls in love. This is almost like a coming of age story for Lev.
 * Qualities of the Journey: **

Discussion Agenda:


 * Discussion Questions (15-25) **

Thinking of Lev as a hero, what kind of hero would he be? (reluctant? physical? spiritual?) and how did archetypes like ego and anima (Vika) affect him?

What was your reaction to the dynamic in Lev and Kolya’s interactions? Trying to think from the point of view of a Piter native, immersed in culture and state propaganda, do you think you would have stayed in Leningrad before the siege? What would you have done if you were put in Lev’s position? Would you have left the city? Would you have asked Kolya as many questions? Would you have been able to stab the leader and kill the other soldier in order to save your friends? Is Lev someone you can relate to?
 * Personal: **

How would the book be different is Lev and Kolya didn’t have the same relationship? Why is Chess used to heavily throughout the book? Culturally? Intellectually? etc. What do you think about the authors description of the Siege of Leningrad? How would the story be different if the story was told from Kolya’s point of view? If this book took place now, how would Lev and Vika’s relationship be changed? At the beginning of the story Lev was confused and interested about love and asked Kolya and himself lots of questions. How did this change as Lev gained more confidence in himself and grew up?
 * Analytical: **


 * Significant Passages: **

“I was cursed with the pessimism of both the Russians and the Jews, two of the gloomiest tribes in the world.”

“In certain ways I am deeply stupid. I don’t say this out of modesty. I believe that I’m more intelligent that the average human being, though perhaps intelligence should not be looked at as a single gauge, like a speedometer, but as a full array of tachometers, odometers, altimeters, and the rest.”

“I never understood people who said their greatest fear was public speaking, or spiders, or any of the other minor terrors. How could you fear anything more than death? Everything else offered moments of escape; a paralyzed man could still read Dickens; a man in the grips of dementia might have flashes of the most absurd beauty.”

“The arithmetic is brutal, but brutal arithmetic always worked in Russia’s favor.”

You’d think everyone in Russia with a Hitler mustache would have shaved it by now, but no, this ^%#$%^ thinks it’s a good look for him.”


 * Connections: **

- Provides a different view to the siege of Piter [|http://go.galegroup.com.ursus-proxy-10.ursus.maine.edu/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=maine&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&contentSet=GALE%7CA180986106&&docId=GALE|A180986106&docType=GALE&role=LitRC]
 * Article: Wartime Rations by Boris Fishman: **