The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven GallowayMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A cellist; an act of defiance and hope; three lives devastated by war; their ability to survive at all costs.
On May 27, 1992 a mortar shell struck a market during the Siege of Sarajevo, killing 22 people and injuring many others who were simply waiting in line for a loaf of bread.
As a sign of humanity and resistance Vedran Smailović, a renowned Sarajevan cellist, played Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor for 22 days in the same bombed-out market square, to honor each of his fellow citizens.
In author Steven Galloway’s fictional account of the cellist and the siege, humanity is brought to the basic level of survival. Told through the eyes of three citizens – Arrow, a sniper, Dragan, a baker, and Kenan, a father – the daily necessities of food, water and endurance form a bleak but astounding narrative. Simply walking in the streets of Sarajevo is life threatening. Snipers sit in the hillsides taking aim at their targets as if they were ducks in a carnival attraction. What separates those who make it across bridges or streets to the safety of a nearby building is nothing more than luck or chance.
The pallor of war settled on me while I was reading this book. I had to look at the window on occasion to make sure mortar shells weren’t dropping in my driveway. This novel was brilliant and poetic.
I only wish there had been a map of the city – the topography of Sarajevo – mountains, hills, valley, rivers – was as much a character of this novel as were the actual humans. It would have been nice to have something in the front of the book to refer to while reading, but that is a minor complaint.
I read this in one afternoon. It was haunting.
For more from the author check out this related video:
Book source: Public library
Daisy Mom (Melissa Mc) is a mother of 3; wife of 1; daughter, sister, friend, aunt; lover of football, politics, food, travel, walking, theatre and all things literary.You cnd find more of her book reviews on her blog Gerbera Daisy Diaries
