“Why do you suppose he’s there? Is he playing for the people who died? Or is he playing for the people who haven’t? What does he hope to accomplish?” -From The Cellist of Sarajevo-
The Siege of Sarajevo began April 5, 1992 and lasted almost four years. Approximately 10,000 people were killed, and 56,000 wounded – most were civilians. Embedded in these numbers are thousands of personal stories. One of those stories includes Vedran Smailovic, a musician who witnessed 22 of his friends and neighbors killed by a mortar shell while they were waiting to buy bread in May 1992. In response to this horrific event, Smailovic sat in the square where his friends had died and played his cello for 22 days – one day for each life. This small, but significant human response to the war touched Steven Galloway – a Canadian writer who had never been to Sarajevo, but who began to think about hate and the essential ingredients of humanity. The result is The Cellist of Sarajevo – a profoundly moving and universal novel about what it means to be human in the face of atrocity.
The Cellist of Sarajevo is the story of four regular people and their response to war and hate. The cellist is the character who unites the story threads. His music is the backdrop to the core stories which Galloway tells in taut, yet simple prose. Dragan is living with his sister and her family – he has managed to send his wife and son away from Sarajevo to safety and he often thinks about what it would be like to leave Sarajevo and join them. In the meantime, he avoids old friends and focuses on his survival – trying to cross an intersection where a sniper waits. Kenan lives with his wife and two small children. He has avoided engaging in the conflict and every four days must go to get water for his family and elderly neighbor – a woman who is unkind, cold, and selfish. Arrow is a young woman who will not acknowledge her real name – the name that represents who she was before the war. She now works as a sniper for the forces within the city. Before the end of the novel, all three will have to decide whether or not they will allow the war to make decisions for them and steal their humanity, or if instead they will reach out to another person and do what is right, even if it means they will not survive.
I was moved to tears at the end of this short novel. Galloway writes exquisitely. He shows the reader the simple lives of his characters and defines the essence of what it means to be human. The novel makes the reader wonder what he or she would do faced with similar circumstances. It asks the big questions. As Galloway points out in his short introduction:
The themes and characters exist wherever ordinary people find themselves caught in war. Sarajevo could be Lebanon or Chechnya or Iraq or a half-dozen other places.
The Cellist of Sarajevo is required reading. Beautifully crafted and heavy with truth, it is one I can highly recommend. Rated 5/5.
= Excellent
= Good/Very Good
= Okay read
= Not recommended
= Ugh! Don't waste your time.
This book sounds wonderful! I’ll be keeping an eye out for it.
Lezlie
You did a remarkable job summarizing this book. I am glad you enjoyed it too. Like you, I think this one will be in my top five list of 2008.
=) Jill
Lezlie: I believe this book is slated to be released mid-May. I know you can pre-order through Amazon and Powells. If you only read one book in 2008, this should be the one!
Jill: Thanks
If only one book?! Okay, you convinced me! I’ll check it out.
Oh good, Natasha
Let me know how much you love it!
My library has it on order and I already put it on hold. I don’t mess around!
Natasha: You go girl!*laughs*
This sounds like a great read! If you want a non-fic take on the topic, you should check out ‘Escape from Sarajevo’, by Cristobel Mattingly.
Thanks Wendy–I’m putting it on my wishlist.
Alisia: Thanks for the recommendation – I’ll check it out.
Trish: You’re welcome – I love to enable other readers to just keep buying more great books *smiles*
Beautiful review Wendy! I added it to my TBR.
Teddy: I am still thinking of this book…I’ll look forward to reading your thoughts on it.
Wonderful telling of people’s thoughts and behaviors of a people under siege. What would we do? One error in your description. The background of Kenan and Dragan should be reversed.
Ben: I hope I never have to know what I would do! Thanks for the correction
I fixed it…silly mistake!
I was deeply touched by this book.Three years ago I was in Sarajevo and could not believe the devastation that was inflicted on this beautiful city.Two years later,my new neighbours who were from Sarajevo told me stories that made my hair stand on end.Reading the book made me realize that there is suffering beyond belief even today.How long will it take to be human?Sometimes there isn’t more we can do other than treat others with kindness on a daily basis.As for my neighbours?There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to make their chosen country as peaceful and truly human as possible.
Marcelle: Thanks for weighing in on this book – it is so sad to see the suffering that war has brought throughout the world – I have often wondered if we all just followed the Golden Rule (Do unto others as you would have them do unto you) what an amazing and peaceful world we would have.
I love this book and I love the fact the real-life cellist has expressed his irritation at the publication of the book – throwing open the debate as to the ‘rights’ of a muse. Great review. You can read mine at http://www.birdsandwords.merseyblogs.co.uk.
Vicki: Thanks for stopping by – I enjoyed your review!
Not sure if you’re interested, but we’ve got a reading group discussion on the book. Feel free to drop by.
http://ravndahl.blogspot.com/2009/04/april-reading-group-cellist-of-sarajevo.html
Kerri: Thank you for the invitation to join in with your reading group discussion – unfortunately I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with life right now (new puppy, work has picked up and I’m getting ready to go back east to visit family in two weeks), so I will not be able to participate. But, it is a wonderful book – I think you’ll have a good discussion!