Symphony for the City of the Dead by M.T. Anderson

Katrine | Manalapan High School, Grade 11

Rating: *****

M.T. Anderson describes the famous Russian composer, Dmitri Shostakovich and the historical background of the Siege of Leningrad. Before the siege of Leningrad during World War II, officials stored the food meant to maintain the city during the war in one building. However, all of the storage was destroyed as German bombs hit the city. Trapped by the Nazi invading force, Shostakovich wrote the Leningrad Symphony that commemorated his fellow Russian citizens, which became significant morale in the eventual Allied victory.

This novel efficiently describes how society must learn to never make the same mistakes from the past embedded in the book to inspire the reader’s future behavior. I believe it was very informative and I was able to learn more about the role of Russia during World War II. This is definitely a good read if you’re interested in learning more about world history.