The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
Text
One of my greatest disappointments in not being able to attend 2008's Brisbane Writer's Festival, was the chance to meet Steven Galloway and hear him talk about the events that inspired his lyrical novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo.
There are many dark stains throughout the history of man. One of our greatest shames was to witness the atrocities committed during the siege of Sarajevo and do nothing to help her people. Like the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 , the world looked on as the Serbian army turned against the city during a four year siege. Between April 1992 and February 1996, the soldiers burrowed into the hills surrounding the city, shelling the city while snipers took arbitrary shots at innocent people as they crossed the street.
The Cellist of Sarajevo was inspired by real life events. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, a cellist living above a bread shop witnessed 22 people killed by a mortar while waiting to buy bread. The next day, the cellist at precisely 4 pm and dressed in a tuxedo walked out of his building, sat where the mortar hit and played a rendition of Bach's Adagio in G minor. For the next 22 days at precisely 4pm, the cellist continued to play the same piece in the memory of each of the people killed there. As the news of the cellist spread, each day people gathered to hear him play, some leaving flowers. In a city gripped with fear and violence the cellist became a reminder of what was once good about the city and its people.
For three of the city's residents: Arrow (A sniper asked to protect the Cellist), Dragon (an elderly man wanting to cross a road targeted by snipers) and Kenon (a family man risking his life to get water for his family), the cellist awakened a part of themselves they had thought was permanently lost to the war. Through his selfless gift the cellist gave back to his city, unlocking in them the deep resilience that throughout history had been responsible for rebuilding cities and lives after years of war and devastation.
Poinant, lyrical and inspiring, The Cellist of Sarajevo is a story that will warm the heart and make us question how we wish to live our lives. Its about resiliance and the triumph of the human spirit; how it is fed, nourished and kept alive despite being surrounded by heartbreak.
If you're only going to read one book this year, make sure its The Cellist of Sarajevo.
About Me
- Banafsheh Serov
- Australia
- I am passionate about the written language. I love writing, reading, reviewing, selling and promoting books. I am an independent bookseller with over 20 years of experience in the book trade. Together with my partners, I actively aim to improve our bookstore's range and services to better reflect the needs of our community and clientele. In 2008, my memoir 'Under A Starless Sky' was published by Hachette, Australia. Since then, I had a short story 'Jasmine Petals' published in 'Stories of Belonging' (Finch) and in 2013, released my first full-length novel, The Russian Tapestry, also by Hachette. I am currently writing my second novel. I strive daily to improve my skills and stretch the limits of my craft. My love of books has naturally lead to reviewing. You can follow me on Twitter @B_Serov, Facebook www.facebook.com/BanafshehSerov and Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429016.Banafsheh_Serov
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Boat - Nam Le
The Boat
Nam Le
Hamish Hamilton
Nam Le's book of short stories, hit our stores under a great umbrella of praise from the literary society. It was picked by book the 'The Tuesday Bookclub' and was the first book chosen for the 'Debra Camron' (702 ABC Radio) bookclub.
Graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, Le has written a collection of unique stories, each with their own tempo and heartbeat. The writing is lyrical and descriptive, taking time to slowly allow the reader a portal view into the background of each character. Le shows great talent in weaving charactors as diverse as a Colombian hit man living life on the edge; an elderly artist in New York struggling to renew a connection with his daughter; and a teenage boy in a small Australian fishing town dealing with his mother's illness.
Like bookends his two stories about the Vietnamese experiences were by far the most poinant and heartbreaking of the anthologies. I once read that each person has a story in their past that if they told you, would break your heart. Its hard to imagine that Le's own family experiences reflects the experiences depicted in the two stories.
Le is clearly talented and his stories are well crafted. I really wanted to be awe inspired by his stories, but i'm afraid aside from the two Vietnamese ones, the rest left me cold. Most of them had an ambigous ending as if the story simply folded without reaching a resolution. Maybe that was the aim of Le: to confuse us into not forgetting his stories, or maybe I was just not clever enough to follow the ending the author intended me to conclude. Either way, not having a satisfactory resolution retracted from my overall enjoyment.
Nam Le
Hamish Hamilton
Nam Le's book of short stories, hit our stores under a great umbrella of praise from the literary society. It was picked by book the 'The Tuesday Bookclub' and was the first book chosen for the 'Debra Camron' (702 ABC Radio) bookclub.
Graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop, Le has written a collection of unique stories, each with their own tempo and heartbeat. The writing is lyrical and descriptive, taking time to slowly allow the reader a portal view into the background of each character. Le shows great talent in weaving charactors as diverse as a Colombian hit man living life on the edge; an elderly artist in New York struggling to renew a connection with his daughter; and a teenage boy in a small Australian fishing town dealing with his mother's illness.
Like bookends his two stories about the Vietnamese experiences were by far the most poinant and heartbreaking of the anthologies. I once read that each person has a story in their past that if they told you, would break your heart. Its hard to imagine that Le's own family experiences reflects the experiences depicted in the two stories.
Le is clearly talented and his stories are well crafted. I really wanted to be awe inspired by his stories, but i'm afraid aside from the two Vietnamese ones, the rest left me cold. Most of them had an ambigous ending as if the story simply folded without reaching a resolution. Maybe that was the aim of Le: to confuse us into not forgetting his stories, or maybe I was just not clever enough to follow the ending the author intended me to conclude. Either way, not having a satisfactory resolution retracted from my overall enjoyment.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Likeness - Tana French
The Likeness
Tana French
Hodder
Detective Cassie Maddox is back, this time without Rob (her previous partner from Tana French's first book The Woods).
In this sequal a young woman is found murdered and Cassie's boyfriend Sam is called in to investigate. He arrives to find the victim is the spitting image of Cassie and what's even more strange, the victim's identity card identifies the victim as Lexie Maddox - Cassie's undercover name on an assignment years ago.
The victim shared an old house with four other students from Trinity college. Secretive and insular, the five stuck close to one another at the exclusion of all others. With no suspect or clues as to the murderer, Cassie's boss Frank Mackey convinces her to go under cover again - this time in the place of the murdered girl.
French with only two books, has already established herself as a master story teller. The story unfolds slowly, with each chapter revealing another piece to the overall puzzle surrounding the case. Throughout the story tension is built with great skill through the characters and the seamless changing of an atmospheric backdrop.
This book will stick to you and wont let you go till the very last page. Tana French's future promises to be bright and I for one look forward to read more books from this promising author.
Tana French
Hodder
Detective Cassie Maddox is back, this time without Rob (her previous partner from Tana French's first book The Woods).
In this sequal a young woman is found murdered and Cassie's boyfriend Sam is called in to investigate. He arrives to find the victim is the spitting image of Cassie and what's even more strange, the victim's identity card identifies the victim as Lexie Maddox - Cassie's undercover name on an assignment years ago.
The victim shared an old house with four other students from Trinity college. Secretive and insular, the five stuck close to one another at the exclusion of all others. With no suspect or clues as to the murderer, Cassie's boss Frank Mackey convinces her to go under cover again - this time in the place of the murdered girl.
French with only two books, has already established herself as a master story teller. The story unfolds slowly, with each chapter revealing another piece to the overall puzzle surrounding the case. Throughout the story tension is built with great skill through the characters and the seamless changing of an atmospheric backdrop.
This book will stick to you and wont let you go till the very last page. Tana French's future promises to be bright and I for one look forward to read more books from this promising author.
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