Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad in 2016 Hub Reading Challenge

Jun 05, 2016 Amy! rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, wwii, audiobook, non-fiction, history, music, russian, yalsa-hub-challenge-2016, zzz2016-male-authors

SO FASCINATING! Everything I knew about the Russian Revolution came from the animated movie Anastasia, and I knew even less about Russia in WWII, so now I sort of feel like an expert. MT Anderson's narration was great; his voice was full of emotion and really brought Shostakovich and his family and friends to life.

I LOVE the amount of primary resources referenced in this; it's a great example of Research for teens.

I also really appreciated the small snippets of music we got throughout, and it ...more

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Sep 25, 2015 Lucie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, non-fiction

I am embarrassed about how little I know about Russian history! Fortunately, this book is a perfect way to delve into the history of the Soviet Union through the life of one of its greatest composers. It seems to be meticulously researched, but is still very readable and compelling. Though, at the same time, it's really hard to read at times, because of how much the Russian people have suffered. Even though I have heard statistics, I was blown away by the sheer devastation. Anderson writes movin ...more

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Jan 13, 2016 Julie Trapp rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-books, 2019-hub-challenge

The biography of D. Shostakovich from Bloody Sunday thru the Siege of Leningrad. Heavy reading for the YA crowd. Many of the names throughout the book are the names of writers & musicians whose music/literature I like. The descriptions of the results of not enough food, clothing, and other necessities of life are quite graphic. Cutting off a deceased person's buttocks or breast as they lay dead on the street is horrific - but they were starving. The history of this part of the war was fascinatin ...more

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Dec 04, 2015 Anna Chappell rated it really liked it

Very good look at the life of Dmitri Shostakovich while placing it in the context of the time.

Second read: listened, and MT Anderson's reading is great, and the excerpts from the music really help the story come alive. ...more

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