A book review: 'The Cellist of Sarajevo'; Galloway, Steven. New York, New York, Riverhead Book, Penguin Publishing Co., 2008 ISBN: 978159483653
I would like to say that there are two reviews that summarize the spirit of the story excellently: 'A moving protrayal of the survival of the human spirit,' by Chicago Sun-Times and 'A grand and powerful novel about how people retain or reclaim their humanity when they are under extreme duress,' by Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi. It is amazing how the main four characters of the book rediscover who they truly are because of the duress of war, and in the end are all willing to give their lives to stay true to their findings. The cellist finds honoring the memories of those who have been killed worth more than living in safety; a coward eventually finds redemption in rescuing the dead body of an unknown fallen fellow citizen from a cameraman's lens, and then carrys out the medical missions of a wounded friend; a husband, and father, refuses to be kept from getting the water his family so deseperately needs by snipers hidden along the route; and Arrow, an assassin lays down her rifle next to the Cellist bow, no one will tell her any longer who or when or what she will hate, not even at the cost of her life. It was interesting how the common and mundane activities of life began to each take on own special significance. A simple loaf of bread becomes sustainence for the soul, water flowing freely yet so scarce reminds me that every moment we live is a gift so often never appreciated, hatred and bitterness so often an emotion dictated to us that we participate in it even when our spirit tells us its wrong, and music's uncanny ability to help us see beyond the apparent and visible. I really enjoyed the novel, and though I'm sure the author's main objective was to help us see that even in war good can still prevail, I think the greater lesson for me was that our life's purpose should be greater than the circumstances around us might dictate. For if our true identity, who we are, is conditioned by events then we will find ourselves in the precarious situations of all four characters in the beginning of this novel .... hopefully it won't take such drastic measures for us to come to realize who we truly destined to become. ENJOY
I would like to say that there are two reviews that summarize the spirit of the story excellently: 'A moving protrayal of the survival of the human spirit,' by Chicago Sun-Times and 'A grand and powerful novel about how people retain or reclaim their humanity when they are under extreme duress,' by Yann Martel, author of Life of Pi. It is amazing how the main four characters of the book rediscover who they truly are because of the duress of war, and in the end are all willing to give their lives to stay true to their findings. The cellist finds honoring the memories of those who have been killed worth more than living in safety; a coward eventually finds redemption in rescuing the dead body of an unknown fallen fellow citizen from a cameraman's lens, and then carrys out the medical missions of a wounded friend; a husband, and father, refuses to be kept from getting the water his family so deseperately needs by snipers hidden along the route; and Arrow, an assassin lays down her rifle next to the Cellist bow, no one will tell her any longer who or when or what she will hate, not even at the cost of her life. It was interesting how the common and mundane activities of life began to each take on own special significance. A simple loaf of bread becomes sustainence for the soul, water flowing freely yet so scarce reminds me that every moment we live is a gift so often never appreciated, hatred and bitterness so often an emotion dictated to us that we participate in it even when our spirit tells us its wrong, and music's uncanny ability to help us see beyond the apparent and visible. I really enjoyed the novel, and though I'm sure the author's main objective was to help us see that even in war good can still prevail, I think the greater lesson for me was that our life's purpose should be greater than the circumstances around us might dictate. For if our true identity, who we are, is conditioned by events then we will find ourselves in the precarious situations of all four characters in the beginning of this novel .... hopefully it won't take such drastic measures for us to come to realize who we truly destined to become. ENJOY
Thanks for this review. Here in St. Louis, (although I live more than an hour south), there is a huge Bosnian community, all of whom are/were refugees and many of whom came from Srebrenica. This book is now on my "Wish List."
ReplyDeleteCheers.
Sherm...
ReplyDeleteThat is really great ........... just perhaps by some coincidence, you'll get the chance to meet a Bosnian who knew of - or - even heard the Cellist?!
-euthychus2