April 27th, 2008 |
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is a moving story based on fact. It chronicles the few days in Sarajevo during 1992 when the real “Cellist of Sarajevo,” Vedran Smailovic, played his cello for 22 days in the exact spot where 22 people had been killed while waiting in line for bread.
In the novel, a counter-sniper, Arrow, is assigned to keep the cellist from getting shot and killed. Arrow is the best at what she does but still wrestles with the moral dilemma of having to take another’s life. She wonders if she is any better than the men in the hills trying to destroy her city.
We also meet Kenan, a man on his way to fetch water for his family, and we follow his life-threatening journey as well as his thoughts, fears, and hopes for the future. Another character, Dragan, misses his family, whom he helped to get out of the country. All of them are waiting. Waiting for help that never comes.
Told in a simple but unforgettable style, Galloway captures this unfortunate moment in history in a way that will break your heart for all victims of war.
This book will be released on May 15 from Riverhead Books.
2008, 231 pp.
Rating: 
April 27th, 2008 |
I’ve seen several people do this lately, but I’m copying Jill who used it for a Sunday Salon. Here’s my list of some of my favorite authors from A-Z. I’ve got a fairly good start to an author index on my site if anyone’s interested. Just go to “Index” in the tabs above.
A - Jane Austen – Persuasion is my favorite
B – Ray Bradbury – Fahrenheit 451
C – Paulo Coelho – The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die
D – Kate DiCamillo - The Tale of Despereaux
E – George Eliot – Silas Marner
F – Jasper Fforde – The Eyre Affair
G – Neil Gaiman – Coraline
H – Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
I – Kazou Ishiguro – Never Let Me Go (I plan on reading Remains of the Day soon and expect to like it even better)
J – Henry James – Daisy Miller
K - Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees
L – Lois Lowry – everthing I’ve read by her, but especially The Giver
M – L.M. Montgomery – Anne of Green Gables
N – Irene Nemirovsky – Suite Francaise
O – Scott O’Dell – Island of the Blue Dolphins, Zia, and The Black Pearl
P – Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar
Q – Anna Quindlen – How Reading Changed My Life and Blessings (I’ll be done soon)
R – Marilynne Robinson – Gilead
S – Betty Smith - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
T – Tolstoy – Anna Karenina; I also love his short stories
U – Sigrid Undset – Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath
V – Sheldon Vanauken – A Severe Mercy
W – Edith Wharton – Ethan Frome
X – Gao Xingjian – Buying a Fishing Rod for my Grandfather. This is the only ‘X’ author I’ve read. I’m reading Xinran later this year and suspect I’ll like Sky Burial a little better than this one.
Y – Taichi Yamada – Strangers
Z – Markus Zusak/Yevgeny Zamyatin – The Book Thief and We
