The Composer is Dead

by Lemony Snicket

illustrated by Carson Ellis

read by The Author

with music composed by Nathaniel Stookey

(New York: HarperCollins, 2009)
Hardcover, 36 Pages, Children’s Fiction

MP3 Audiobook, 56.5 MB, 30 Minutes, Fiction

ISBN: 9780061236273, US$17.99

The composer is dead. “Composer” is a word which here means “a person who sits in a room, muttering and humming and figuring out what notes the orchestra is going to play.” This is called composing. But last night, the Composer was not muttering. He was not humming. He was not moving, or even breathing.

This is called decomposing.

From the Cover: There’s dreadful news from the symphony hall—the composer is dead! If you have ever heard an orchestra play, then you know that musicians are most certainly guilty of something. Where exactly were the violins on the night in question? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a bit too boisterously? In this perplexing murder mystery, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead. Perhaps you can solve the crime yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening.

My Review: I have to admit that I love Lemony Snicket. The man’s writing is simply wonderful, I loved A Series of Unfortunate Events (in spite of my misgivings about the final book in the series) and The Composer is Dead is no exception to that love of Snicket’s writing.

This is a delightful book that walks the Reader through the orchestra pit—on the premise that the composer is dead, and the Inspector is investigating that death and questioning all of the orchestra’s various sections. Along the way to the conclusion (this is C.S.I.: Orchestra Pit or maybe Law & Order: Orchestral Investigation) the Reader (ideally parent and child together) learn all about the various jobs of the instruments in the orchestra, what they do and how they sound. It’s learning, but it’s fun!

Even better, the book comes with a CD which includes a reading of The Composer is Dead by Lemony Snicket himself accompanied by the Nathaniel Stookey and the San Francisco Symphony. Usually, a reading by Lemony Snicket (a.k.a. Daniel Handler) is something dreadful, a word which here means that Daniel Handler is a poor performer and his readings sound overly scripted and stilted and are not pleasurable to listen to in the least. However, Handler has obviously been working on his reading out loud skills as his performance of The Composer is Dead is top notch and quite enjoyable (or perhaps it is the fact that he is not following in the footsteps of Tim Curry as he was in the A Series of Unfortunate Events).

In fact, my only complaint about the book is that Brett Helquist, the illustrator for A Series of Unfortunate Events, did not illustrate this book, because while Carson Ellis’ illustrations are nice, they lack the whimsy and sheer beauty of Helquist’s for the exploits of the Baudelaire orphans.

All-in-all I have to highly recommend this book to any and all comers. This is a very fun book to read through, especially with the youngsters in your life, and would make a wonderful bedtime story. Or, bring the book and CD along with you in the car during a trip and enjoy a wonderful half hour together with a great book and some wonderful music.

This review also available at Bryan's Book Blog