Title: Laughable, yet cruel
Product review: This book is an attempt to describe the life of a Soviet composer without reference to, or apparently any knowledge of, the conditions that the composer was working under. The author's obvious ignorance of the milieu created by the Soviet regimes under which Shostakovich worked results in a work of overwhelming dishonesty - one that cruelly misrepresents the composer and the works he created. This book is so misconceived, both from the standpoint of empathy for the subject and overall scholarship, that it would take several pages to address even its most blatant errors. Fortunately, for those who might be tempted, for whatever reason, to check this out of the library, or even, God forbid, to buy the thing, there is a website where one can read an intelligent and balanced discussion of the sort of feeble anti-revisionism that this book represents (see below). If amazon does not allow links, search for "Music Under Soviet Rule: The Shostakovich Debate."[...]
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
