The Cellist of Sarajevo

The Cellist of Sarajevo
By Steven Galloway
Riverhead Books, 2008. 235 pages. Fiction

While a cellist plays at the site of a mortar attack to commemorate the deaths of twenty-two friends and neighbors, a woman sniper secretly protects the life of the cellist as her army becomes increasingly threatening.

The novel follows four characters, including the cellist and the sniper, over a brief time during the Siege of Sarajevo. The characters react to life in a war zone and try to maintain their humanity in the midst of sniper shootings and shellings. This is a moving, well-written novel that is particularly thought-provoking considering recent political upheaval and violence.

LF