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Book Review: "The Composer is Dead"

by Dave Wheeler4/14/2009 8:58:25 AM

The Composer is Dead

Master of unfortunate events and morosely hilarious storyteller Lemony Snicket is at it again. In The Composer is Dead, a picture book released in March by HarperCollins, Snicket, alongside San Francisco composer Nathaniel Stookey and Portland illustrator Carson Ellis, detail, in stereo, the untimely demise of an unnamed symphonic composer.

The book, which is designed to introduce children to the instruments in the orchestra and includes an audio CD of Stookey’s original music, follows a bumbling Inspector as he investigates the whereabouts of each musician on the murderous night in question. But the woodwinds, the violins, reeds, and percussion all have air-tight alibis. The plot thickens with each turn of the page as, one by one, the Inspector eliminates his virtuoso suspects. Even the conductor seems to be off the hook!

Originally, The Composer is Dead achieved renown in 2006 as Nathaniel Stookey’s brainchild; commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, it premiered at Davies Symphony Hall. The performance featured Snicket’s live narration, which is included on the audio disc that accompanies the book. Since its debut, Snicket and Stookey’s literary symphony has been taken up by the likes of the Toronto, Chicago, and Philadelphia symphonies as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, just to name a few.

With the book version now available, everyone can figure out whodunit from the comfort of their own homes and CD changers. In addition, readers will be charmed by the subtle, nostalgic, and whimsical illustrations characteristic to all of Carson Ellis’s art, evoking bygone days you can’t quite put your finger on. Her other work includes illustrations for Trenton Lee Stewart’s children’s novel The Mysterious Benedict Society; but, perhaps most notably, she is cover-artist-in-chief for the Portland troubadours known as The Decemberists and bride of band front man Colin Meloy (but you indie music connoisseurs probably already knew that).

What you may not realize is that author Snicket—known to his family and the courts as Daniel Handler—is also a musician; he played accordion on several tracks for The Magnetic Fields’ 1999 album 69 Love Songs. He has also contributed lyrics to Brooklyn indie rock band One Ring Zero, which has commissioned lyrics from notable authors like Neil Gaiman (Coraline, The Graveyard Book) and Myla Goldberg (Catching the Moon).

A smart composition of music and humor, combined with a playful bit of murder, The Composer is Dead invites the whole family to an evening of classical music with the orchestra, and a fair share off-beat interrogation from the Inspector. This multimedia project, elegant and intriguing, is sure to spark an interest, or revive a passion, for music and symphonic arrangements for anyone intently listening.

A Note About the Author: Dave Wheeler

Dave Wheeler recently graduated from Western Washington University with a BA in Creative Writing. His poetry has appeared in Western's Jeopardy Magazine and he contributes irregularly to the blog for Village Books, where he works as a bookseller.