The Cellist Of Sarajevo - Steven Galloway

The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
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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.