The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
2008
Fiction
When was the last time you thought about the availability of water? In this compelling novel, set in Sarajevo under siege during the Yugoslav war and based on a true story, a young man sets out to get water for his family and a neighbor, chancing death with every street he crosses or intersection he approaches because of the soldiers in the hills overlooking the city.
An older man sets out to get bread but runs into an old friend, who reminds him of how their lives have changed since the war started. A cellist, who witnessed the death of 22 of his neighbors as they waited in line for bread, decides that he will commemorate their deaths by playing at the site of the shelling. A young woman sniper, part of the resistance still in the city, spends her time trying to pick off enemy soldiers in the hills.
These characters are drawn together as they all try to maintain their humanity in the rubble and destruction of the city they love. A very moving read.
Sandi Lee
Concord Public Library
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