The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway, is a compelling look at war and its effects of a city in turmoil and upheaval. It is also a poignant look at the human spirit and the will to survive.

There are four characters within the pages, each one with their own mission and mode of survival.

The cellist is a character whose music touches lives, although a subtle character within the pages. People are concerned for him, and glad when they see him each day, still alive, still playing his cello. They gather around, to listen to him. His dedication to play “Tomasino’s Adagio in G Minor” for twenty two days in order to honor the lives of those who were killed while waiting in a line to receive bread, evokes emotions within the residents. His cello is the background music that weaves the tapestry of the other three characters together amidst genocide and destruction.

The most intense character is a female who goes by the name of Arrow in order to hide her real identity. Separating her true self from the murderous acts she commits is her form of survival, as she is a sniper bent on seeking revenge. She kills those opposing individuals she deems responsible her city’s destruction.

The cellist and his music envelopes Arrow in a way she can’t quite comprehend. She is rapt in its soulfulness. The reader sees Arrow begin to come to terms with her role as killer, and watches her slowly question her humane side, in the scheme of what is good and what is evil. She questions her hatred for those she holds responsible for the turmoil in Sarajevo. Her role as sniper has tasked her to make decisions that are solely her own. When faced with a superior who makes decisions she disagrees with, she begins to question what is ethical, what is right, what is wrong. Her intensity of thought is fascinating.

The character named Kernan is a man who journeys across the city in order to get water for his wife and children. He is vulnerable to the snipers in the hills, and has become adept at avoiding their bullets. He takes his life at risk each time he treks outside to get water. He has learned to weave back and forth so as not to give the snipers a clear perspective. We watch Kernan come to understand his own inadequacies, and his lack of taking action under harsh circumstances. He is a watcher, not a doer. Music changes his attitude. The cellist’s music, echoes through the city, and doesn’t initially affect him, but at some point, he becomes almost passionate about seeing the cellist play. He becomes illuminated through cellist’s presence.

Dragan is a bakery worker whose wife and child have fled to Italy to avoid the upheaval and devastation. The siege paralyzes him, emotionally. The music affects him, also, in ways he never thought it could. It is almost as if he has an epiphany, realizing his weaknesses and faults.

The one thing that bothered me about the novel is the fact that the characters aren’t tied together in any aspect, and their paths don’t really cross throughout the pages. Also, it lags in spots. But, that aside, the book is well articulated, with strong imagery, and filled with compelling content. The characters are portrayed as ordinary individuals trying to survive the siege as best they can, under extreme adversity. Their humanness is depicted vividly. Galloway gives us glimpses of the massive destruction of the city of Sarajevo, itself with his brilliant writing. He also infuses the book with the fact that the world was indifferent, uncaring, and did nothing to help the citizens of Sarajevo. Humanity was left to fend for itself.

The Cellist of Sarajevo is a thought-provoking novel on so many levels, leaving one to ponder the perils of war, including destruction of not only lives, but the cities, themselves. Fear of the unknown, fear of other ethnic groups, fear of death, blaze through the pages. The cellist, himself, brings life, and brings death, to the forefront. The Cellist of Sarajevo questions the worth of life and how individuals view the unfamiliar within others. Steven Galloway is concise and writes with clarity, revealing characters caught not only in the turmoils of war, but caught within their own entrapment.

It is a book filled with strong emotional content, and one that evokes emotions from the reader, through its profoundness. Yet, there is inspiration, as the reader sees the changes that the oneness and comfort of music brings about in the individuals. Music makes them realize that each individual is a life, whether mother, father, sister, brother, the elderly, etc. Music is the one factor that holds their lives together during the harshest of times, giving them strength to continue their daily rituals, bringing them insight and giving them courage to accept their weaknesses and their strengths for what they are. The human side of life is portrayed vividly.

The Cellist of Sarajevo is a book not to be missed, and one I highly recommend. I personally own a copy.

As far as I know Steven Galloway is not a Jewish author. The story line does not revolve around Jewish individuals. Yet, it is a book that belongs on every book shelf. I remember this moment in history, and saw the ugliness on TV. What was profound to me at the time, was the lack of world interest, the lack of their help and caring, their seemingly lack of regard for life of individuals, no matter their ethnic background. Human kindness ceased to exist. The train of thought is familiar, and one that never ceases to end, going from one event to another, throughout history.
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Thursday May 21, 2009 – 27th of Iyyar, 5769