The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Author : Steven Galloway
Title : The Cellist of Sarajevo
Published : 2008
Publisher : Atlantic Books
Pages : 288
Genre : Historical Fiction

     Snipers in the hills overlook the shattered streets of Sarajevo. Knowing that the next bullet could strike at any moment, the ordinary men and women below strive to go about their daily lives as best they can. Kenan faces the agonizing dilemma of crossing the city to get water for his family. Dragan, gripped by fear, does not know who among his friends he can trust. And Arrow, a young woman counter-sniper must push herself to the limits - of body and soul, fear and humanity. Told with immediacy, grace and harrowing emotional accuracy, The Cellist of Sarajevo shows how, when the everyday act of crossing the street can risk lives, the human spirit is revealed in all its fortitude - and frailty.

     Some times we are drawn to a book because of a character or a place, as was the case with The Cellist of Sarajevo. For some reason, I have yet to ascertain the war that ravaged this country has started to draw me in. It was a conflict that for the outside world seems to be one that has forgotten. The horrors that ravaged these lands are ones we would rather assign to the past. I suppose we prefer to think of Europe post world war two as a stable heart of democracy. So I feel it is through books such as this that we tell others that it will not be forgotten, It must not be. We have a duty to remember if nothing else in the hopes that it can be fended off should such a situation begin to raise it's head again.  

     Throughout the course of the book, we get to experience the daily lives of three of Sarajevo's citizens as the war rages on around them. In their own ways, they each showed me the different ways in which the conflict not only affected its citizens but shaped them into people they never thought they would become. For Kenan, it is simply about surviving the day today. There is a great deal we take for granted in our lives. For most the simple act of turning on the tap to get water is one we never give a second thought to. But through his eyes, we get to witness how this simple act of getting water to drink becomes life and death. It is hard to imagine such a thing, but for many it was every day. With Dragan, we get to see how war breeds paranoia. We have to make split-second sessions that can cause ripples we had never foreseen.  Even when it comes to those we would hold dear to us. Trust must be carefully balanced and runs so very deep that once broken may never be rebuilt. And finally, we come to Arrow, in another life she would be sipping coffee and gossiping with friends on a sunny day. But this harsh world has reshaped her into a weapon. In some ways, she comes to represent the loss of innocence. How it can take us so far from any place we could have imagined ourselves.

     Through these three heroes, we come to experience the pains of war. For me, it is in breaking apart this novel that we get to experience so much more than we would be following just one hero. Each one brought an uneasy feeling to me as I longed to purser there story. There is an inherent feeling of tension built into each line and prose. which builds into a world I could not rip my self away from. The way in which the author unfolds his story is mesmerizing and there is some weird form of beauty to be found within these pages. I realize this may come across as a strange thing to say about a book that will not let you turn away from the horrors of war. But for me, I could see every street and tiered face. This place they inhabit comes to life and crumbles of the page into our hands. His witting style means we hear every mortar hit and cry of pain. But there is also a subtle brushstroke at work hear. He never shoves any event down our throats, we are there with each of our heroes as their witness to a life traveled way of there path. It is hard to imagine that the author is not Serbian and did not witness such events himself. I can only think that he did a great deal of research into the events that took place in those very dark years. 

     This is a book that I could rave about for countless hours to anyone who would listen. It is a novel that has completely captivated me. You are left feeling like the cellist himself, apart of this world but also seeing it from the outside happening all around you. I was left feeling torn apart by the experience of reading it's text. It can be emotionally damaging as you come to form a bond with them. He has managed to bring a very real and dirty face to a war that seems to be slipping through the cracks.  It is a book that seemed to suck all the air out of me as I turned the last pages and has earned a well-deserved place on my forever shelf.