The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven
Galloway
The Rood Awakening Vs The Cellist Of Sarajevo
A spare and haunting, wise and beautiful novel about the endurance of the
human spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity in a
city ravaged by war.
In a city under siege, four people whose lives have been upended are
ultimately reminded of what it is to be human. From his window, a musician
sees twenty-two of his friends and neighbors waiting in a breadline. Then,
in a flash, they are killed by a mortar attack. In an act of defiance, the man
picks up his cello and decides to play at the site of the shelling for twenty-
two days, honoring their memory. Elsewhere, a young man leaves home to
collect drinking water for his family and, in the face of danger, must weigh
the value of generosity against selfish survivalism. A third man, older, sets
off in search of bread and distraction and instead runs into a long-ago
friend who reminds him of the city he thought he had lost, and the man he
once was. As both men are drawn into the orbit of cello music, a fourth
character—a young woman, a sniper—holds the fate of the cellist in her

hands. As she protects him with her life, her own army prepares to
challenge the kind of person she has become.
A novel of great intensity and power, and inspired by a true story, The
Cellist of Sarajevo poignantly explores how war can change one’s
definition of humanity, the effect of music on our emotional endurance, and
how a romance with the rituals of daily life can itself be a form of
resistance.
Personal Review: The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
This book was utterly amazing!!! If I hadn't been reading Musings of a
Bookish Kitty I would've missed out on this beautiful book. It takes place
during the siege of Sarajevo based loosely around an actual event. A man
plays his cello for twenty-two days out in the open for all to see, putting
himself at risk by death from the snipers that are in the hills killing the
citizens at will. I've read only one other book that pertains to this time in
history and that was, Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Wartime Sarajevo,
which was so gripping and opened my eyes to what these people endured.
To help put their life and struggles into perspective, during the time I was
reading this I was without power for three days because of a severe storm.
I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't watch television or turn on
the lights, make my coffee, or flush the toilet. The people in Sarajevo went
without power for almost seven years. At times they would flip the switch
by habit and the lights would be on!! This was a time when they would
react quickly because they might be able to recharge their radios so that
they could get news from the outside world. To get untainted water, one of
the characters made the several mile hike to a brewery where a water
source was available. But to do this, he had to cross streets and bridges
which would leave him vulnerable to those that wanted to see him dead.
This story revolves around Arrow, Dragan, and Kenan with the story of the
cellist setting the scene. It is a fast and very involving read, one that you
will find yourself not putting down and then when you do realizing how
much we take for granted...food, electricity, running water, music, internet,
phones, being able to cross the street and not fearing for your life. This
was a powerful story that will stay with me for some time and one that I
totally recommend to others. I know that it sounds so depressing and
weary but it isn't at all, it's a story of how music connects humans to their
memories, good and bad. It's a story of how music brings people together
and gives them hope in the end.
I would like to share one passage that hurt my heart and made me really
sit there and think about what is happening somewhere else on this planet
while I take for granted my comfortable life.
"if we stay they will shoot at us from the hills until we're all dead, and
then they'll come down just the same."

"The world will never allow that. They'll have to help us sooner or later."
she says. He's not sure from her tone of voice if she believes what she
says. He doesn't know how she could. They must both see the the same
city disintegrating around them.
"No one is coming." His voice is harsher than he means it to be. "We're
here on our own, and no one's come to help us. Don't you know that?"
Emina looks down, and fastens the top two buttons on her coat. She
puts her hands in her pockets. After a while she says, very quietly, "I know
no one is coming. I just don't want to believe it."
p.73
Interaction between Dragan and Emina while waiting to cross a
dangerous intersection and bridge.
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