Symphony for the City of the Dead

June 29, 2015
Anderson’s ambitious nonfiction hybrid strives to meld the history of the bloody events of Russia from the 1917 Revolution through its transformation into the Soviet Union to the atrocities of WWII with a biography of prolific Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975), who was both a victim and a hero of the times he lived in. Anderson has clearly done his research, much of it original, and some of the strongest chapters—especially one on starvation and cannibalism in Leningrad during the winter of 1942—are filled with gruesome details from primary sources. But his treatment of Shostakovich’s life and character is often speculative, failing to richly evoke the composer’s passion and talent for music. In some heavily historical chapters, Shostakovich is only a minor presence. With numerous anecdotes incorporating language like “apparently,” “supposedly,” and “may have,” Anderson draws attention to the difficulty of verifying source material from this historical period in Russia, even questioning one of the major sources on Shostakovich’s life. A fascinating, if uneven, examination of an important musical figure living in a time of extraordinary political and social turmoil. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from September 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-This ambitious and gripping work is narrative nonfiction at its best. Anderson expertly sets the scene of the tumultuous world into which Dmitri Shostakovich was born in 1906 and traces his development as an artist and a public figure. He also tells the story of the composer's beloved Leningrad, focusing on the creation and legacy of the symphony written in its honor at the height of World War II. In his author's note, Anderson poses an intriguing question: "How do we reconstruct the story of someone who lived in a period in which everyone had an excuse to lie, evade, accuse, or keep silent?" The compelling, well-researched narrative relates what is known of Shostakovich's story, what is speculation, what is revisionist history, and what new sources have revealed. The chilling details of the Stalin regime and the plight of the Russian people even before the Germans arrived will be eye-opening to many teen readers. The book has all the intrigue of a spy thriller, recounts the horrors of living during the three year siege, and delineates the physical oppression and daunting foes within and outside of the city. This is also the story of survival against almost impossible odds. Through it all, Anderson weaves the thread of the composer's music and the role it played in this larger-than-life drama. VERDICT A must-have title with broad crossover appeal-Luann Toth, School Library Journal

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2015
The epic tale of the siege of Leningrad and its native son, composer Dmitri Shostakovich, whose seventh symphony comforted, consoled, and rallied a population subjected to years of unspeakable suffering. Anderson vividly chronicles the desperate lengths residents went to, including acts of cannibalism, to survive the Wehrmacht's siege, a 3-year-long nightmare that left more than 1 million citizens dead. The richly layered narrative offers a keen-eyed portrait of life in the paranoid, ruthlessly vengeful Stalinist Soviet Union, its citizens living under a regime so capriciously evil that one could be heralded a hero of the motherland one day and condemned as a traitor the next. The storytelling is captivating, describing how Shostakovich began composing the symphony under relentless bombardment in Leningrad and later finished it in Moscow, its triumphant performance in Leningrad during the siege, and how it rallied worldwide sympathy for Russia's plight. Music is at the heart of the story. As Anderson writes in the prologue, "it is a story about the power of music and its meanings," and he communicates them with seeming effortlessness in this brilliantly written, impeccably researched tour de force. A triumphant story of bravery and defiance that will shock and inspire. (photos, author's note, sources notes, bibliography, index) (Biography. 14 & up)

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Starred review from July 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Dmitri Shostakovich was witness to an almost overwhelming number of changes and transformations in his native Russia. From the rise of Communism under Lenin to Stalin's Great Terror and, perhaps most monumentally, the Siege of Leningrad, the Russian composer was there, often drawn dangerously close to the clutches of Stalin's seemingly random rage. All the while, he defiantly wrote moving, galvanizing music. In his first book-length work of nonfiction, Anderson skillfully interweaves details from Shostakovich's life into pivotal historical moments, particularly Russia's role in WWII, brilliantly elucidating some of the more puzzling parts of Russian history. His frequent descriptions of Shostakovich's music are vivid, evoking odd yet fitting images to call to mind sounds or moods, then loosely tying those moods to events. It's a powerful tactic that does double duty, spotlighting the innovative narrative quality of Shostakovich's music while showcasing how he was influenced by the turbulent period, which, in turn, gives readers some insight into the mindset of Russian citizens under Stalin's tyrannical reign. In a gripping narrative, helped by ample photos and shockingly accurate historical details, Anderson offers readers a captivating account of a genius composer and the brutally stormy period in which he lived. Though easily accessible to teens, this fascinating, eye-opening, and arresting book is just as appealing to adults.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2015
Accomplished novelist Anderson presents an ambitious work of nonfiction encompassing the life of composer Dmitri Shostakovich, the early political history of the U.S.S.R., and the nation's horrific suffering during WWII. Initially inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution, Shostakovich's music changed as he witnessed friends and family suffer torture, disappearance, and death during Stalin's Reign of Terror. Alternately denounced and celebrated by Soviet authorities, Shostakovich lived in fear of the NKVD arriving at his door. The book's centerpiece is his Leningrad Symphony, embraced by audiences and the authorities alike; the varied movements offered both catharsis and hope at the nation's darkest hour. Was Shostakovich a Soviet propagandist or covert dissenter, telling truths through his music about Stalin's atrocities against his own people? Anderson notes the challenge of researching a subject for whose life even the basic factsare often contested; this uncertainty results in the sometimes distracting reliance on perhaps and supposedly. The densely packed account changes focus throughout, from poetic descriptions of the composer's work to stark depictions of starvation in Leningrad and the disastrous effects of Stalin's purges. Narrative momentum rises and falls unevenly as the story shifts; it's a lot to process for readers, for whom most of the material will be new. An extensive selection of black-and-white photographs helps define the wide range of subjects and settings; meticulous scholarship is evident in the detailed source notes, bibliography, and the author's note addressing the credibility of research material. There are few composers whose music and whose own lives reflect so exactly the trials and triumphs of the nation, Anderson writesrevealing his reason and inspiration for this sweeping and emotionally charged account of events during Shostakovich's lifetime. lauren adams

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)