Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson delivers a brilliant and riveting account of the Siege of Leningrad and the role played by Russian composer Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony.
Candlewick Press (2015)
ISBN: 9780763668181
Awards
National Book Award Longlist ● Boston Globe – Horn Book Award for Nonfiction ● Wall Street Journal Best Book of the Year ● NPR’s Best Books of the Year ● Christian Science Monitor’s “10 Young Adult Books Worthy of Adult Readers” (#1) ● YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, Finalist ● National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People ● Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year ● Indie Next List ● Indies Choice Award ● Booklist Editor’s Choice ● Book Page Best Teen Book of the Year ● Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year ● Publishers Weekly Best Young Adult Book of the Year ● School Library Journal Best Book of the Year ● Junior Library Guild Selection ● Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices Book List ● New York Public Library Best Book for the Teen Age ● Vermont Green Mountain Book Award Master List ● Julia Ward Howe Young Readers Award (Massachusetts) ● Texas Tayshas High School Reading List ● Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List ● TriState Young Adult Review Group Books of Note (PA, DE, NJ)
In September 1941, Adolf Hitler’s Wehrmacht surrounded Leningrad in what was to become one of the longest and most destructive sieges in Western history—almost three years of bombardment and starvation that culminated in the harsh winter of 1943–1944. More than a million citizens perished. Survivors recall corpses littering the frozen streets, their relatives having neither the means nor the strength to bury them. Residents burned books, furniture, and floorboards to keep warm; they ate family pets and—eventually—one another to stay alive. Trapped between the Nazi invading force and the Soviet government itself was composer Dmitri Shostakovich, who would write a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens—the Leningrad Symphony, which came to occupy a surprising place of prominence in the eventual Allied victory.
This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power—and layered meaning—of music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched by National Book Award–winning author M. T. Anderson.
Reviews
“A sweeping work of narrative nonfiction.” — The Wall Street Journal
“Extensively researched and passionately told, Symphony for the City of the Dead exposes the strengths and weaknesses of humanity through an engrossing tale of war, art, and undying creativity.” — Book Page
“A must-have for high-school classrooms and libraries. It’s the work of an author who has never jumped onto any trend-wagon, but has instead followed his own keen intelligence toward a big, essential story.” — New York Journal of Books
“Anderson's impressive achievement in Symphony for the City of the Dead is to make this book more than just a historical study: it's an investigation of the relationship between artists and their times.” — Classical MPR (Minnesota Public Radio)
“Fans of M.T. Anderson’s National Book Award-winning YA novel, The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation and acclaimed dystopian novel Feed, will not be surprised at the brilliance of the writing and the meticulous research on display in this marvelous, compulsively readable biography of composer Dmitri Shostakovich and the great city that inspired his Seventh Symphony.” — The Buffalo News
“This well-researched book made me more willing to reach out and help others just as Shostakovich and his friends did at a time when everyone needed to dig deep to find their faith and to have courage.” — Portland Press-Herald
★ A “brilliantly written, impeccably researched tour de force. A triumphant story of bravery and defiance that will shock and inspire.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
★ “In a gripping narrative, 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 will be just as appealing for adults.” — Booklist, starred review
★ “This ambitious and gripping work is narrative nonfiction at its best...The book has all the intrigue of a spy thriller.” — School Library Journal, starred review
“A fascinating...examination of an important musical figure living in a time of extraordinary political and social turmoil.” — Publishers Weekly
“… Sweeping and emotionally charged.” — Horn Book
“Anderson brings his narrative A-game to this dense work of nonfiction, blending the complex strands of the story into a satisfying whole.” — Bulletin for the Center for Children’s Books
“It culminates in a rich and moving understanding of the intersection of culture and history, and of the power of the arts to save a nation.” — Shelf Awareness
“It’s been a while since a book about Shostakovich impressed me so much. Symphony for the City of the Dead is worth reading whatever your age.” — DSCH Journal
Interviews
Slate, “How Do You Write History for Teenagers?” (October 9, 2015)
WBUR Here & Now, “The Music That Brought Hope To A Besieged City” (September 21, 2015)
Vermont Public Radio, “Author M. T. Anderson” (December 1, 2015)
Boston Globe, “M.T. Anderson needs nighttime, silence” (October 2, 2015)
Publishers Weekly, “M.T. Anderson Writes History... in Four Movements” (July 17, 2015)
School Library Journal, “Strike Up the Band | M.T. Anderson and the Story Behind the Leningrad Symphony” (August 1, 2015)
School Library Journal/Fuse #8, “Video Interview: M.T. Anderson and the Symphony for the City of the Dead” (March 2, 2015)
WBEZ Morning Shift, “Morning Shift: November 2, 2015” (November 2, 2015)
YALSA Hub, “One Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with M.T. Anderson” (May 19, 2015)
MSLA Forum, “AUTHOR INTERVIEW: M.T. ANDERSON” (April 12, 2015)
Seven Days Vermont, “New YA Book Examines Leningrad Symphony” (January 13, 2016)
Shelf Awareness, “M.T. Anderson: 'Seeking Out the Truth' for Teens” (August 12, 2015)
Radio Boston, “M.T. Anderson Details Siege Of Leningrad For Teens In 'Symphony For The City Of The Dead'” (September 29, 2015)