The Cellist of Sarajevo **** by Steven Galloway

As the cover says this is a gripping story of Sarajevo under siege. The writer acknowledges there is a time distortion in that the events in the story take place over a few weeks whereas the actually siege took place over three years.

Written by a Canadian author in the most magnetic fashion it faces the lives of three individuals over a time period of 22 days. That number of days is significant in that a notable, elderly musician watched an explosion of a mortar that killed 22 people on the street in front of his apartment building. Every day after that he goes out at the same time as the explosion, sits in the hole made by the mortar and plays Albinoni’s Adagio each day for 22 days. The story doesn’t focus on the cellist but his conviction is portrayed through the daily trauma of the other three individuals, Dragan, Keenan and Arrow.

It is a graphic reminder of the horror of the inhumane conditions that can be imposed by the insanity of politics and divergent ideologies. But none of the individuals ever give up hope that the city will not someday return to its former glorious self. It is a tale of resilience and hope.