The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

The Siege of Sarajevo was the longest siege a capital city experienced in modern history. Above all, the siege was one of the most horrific events since World War II. This was because there were more than 8000 people who were victims of the siege, including women and children. Countries around the world were on the edge of their chairs and on high alert. In fact, the siege was the result of the Bosnian war (1992-1995), which was provoked by ethnicity and religious conflicts between the Orthodox Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosnians. During the siege, on May 26, 1992, twenty-two people, lining up for bread, were killed by a mortar shell on May 26, 1992. Despite this horrible event, came out an inspiring story about a Cellist. To honor their deaths, a cellist, Vedran Smailovic, played “Albinoni’s Adagio”, for 22 days, each day representing each person. This is evident in the introduction of the novel, “He will carry his cello and stool down...to the empty street. The war will go on around him…He won’t be sure he will survive.” Even though Vedran’s actions meant his life was at stake, he still played his cello for his fellow sisters and brothers. This act inspired and gave hope to many citizens who were victims of the siege. It seems as if the inspiration reached Canada too. A Canadian author, Steven Galloway, wrote a famous historical fiction novel based on this true event, The Cellist of Sarajevo. This book was was nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and won the 2009 Evergreen Award, and other various awards as well.

The Cellist of Sarajevo explores the diverse stories of three fictional main characters, Arrow, Kenan, and Dragan during the siege.  Each of the characters have different viewpoints towards the siege because of how they are affected by it. By this, Galloway’s free will versus fate is conveyed. The setting of the novel is in Sarajevo, a capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The novel’s first character is Arrow, a female sniper, who was hired in order to defend Sarajevo. Arrow chose to become a sniper in order to seek revenge on “the men on the hills.” Therefore, she motivates herself through her hatred. “I am Arrow, because I hate [the men on the hills]. The woman you knew hated nobody.” She goes by the name of Arrow, a persona, rather than her original name, which implies that she is conflicted. Because of the lack of information about Arrow and her past, this also creates suspense and questions. Nevertheless, Arrow’s story is revealed through her thoughts and brief flashbacks. In the first few pages, Arrow has positioned herself on a deserted building to shoot towards the men on the hills. However, things don’t happen according to her plan, but she makes it out of the building she was using for cover. Later, she is called by her unit commander, Nermin, the man who hired her to become a sniper. Because the Cellist represents hope for the civilians, the men on the hills yearn to shoot him. For this reason, he appoints Arrow to provide protection for the Cellist. Nermin leaves the life of the Cellist in Arrow’s hands. More importantly the civilians’ hopes are also dependent on Arrow. Will Arrow be able to handle the pressure of the important mission? Will Arrow fail to protect the Cellist or succeed?

The novel’s next character is a man in his early thirties, Kenan. He is characterized as afraid and hopeless yet is an affectionate father to three children and a husband to one lovely wife. He ‘has’ to go the brewery for water, every four days, in order to survive. However, he is struggling with fear; he is afraid of the city, the war, his family and the lives of people around him. “Kenan knows he’s getting progressively weaker, like almost everyone else in the city, and wonders if the day will come when he won’t be able to carry back enough water for his family.” In spite of his fears he motivates himself to go to the brewery. Through this brave action, readers can conclude he is persevering. Furthermore, Kenan’s altruistic personality allows him to take along two more canisters for his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Ristovski. Mrs. Ristovski is widowed, which is one of the reasons why Kenan assists her. More importantly, he dislikes Mrs. Ristovski because of her rough behavior towards him. Yet, he still travels a risky journey to the brewery for her and his family. Throughout the novel, Kenan’s fears greatly influence him. However, Kenan must overcome his fears in order to survive the treacherous war. He must do this for himself, and others, especially for his family.

The last character of the novel is Dragan, who in his sixties. Because the war has affected Dragan in a negative way he is currently blocking out people. Therefore, he is very cynical. Nevertheless, Dragan’s family evacuated the city at the war’s beginning. However, Dragan did not leave despite the war. His reason was because he had happy memories of Sarajevo, therefore he didn’t want to leave, “People were happy. Life was good. This is, at least, how Dragan remembers it.” Dragan’s day is narrated as he makes his way to work, a bakery. However, since the story is during a siege, there are snipers mercilessly shooting at civilians. Consequently, Dragan, along with many other citizens have to run for their lives. During his dangerous journey, he meets a friend, Emina. Unlike Dragan, she is an optimistic character, she views the war in a different way. She reaches out to strangers by journeying to provide them medication. Because of their opposing characteristics, Galloway utilizes Emina as a character foil for Dragan. However, situations become complicated when Emina is shot…

Overall, the novel is an exciting book to read due to Galloway’s usage of in media res a story beginning in the midst of the plot. Thus the narrative begins at an action-packed and tense part. This creates suspense and brings up questions pushing on readers’ curiosity. Galloway also depicts the lives of the three fictional characters through shift in narration. Every chapter is narrated by different characters. Through this, readers can explore the lives of the citizens during the war from not just one character but three characters who all have different point of views. Not only that but readers can compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the three characters. For example, the fact that Kenan is afraid of killing more than dying and Arrow only kills because of her hatred, is ironic. Likewise, point of view shift is an interesting narrative element. Readers have a chance to explore the war from three different point of views. This is more the reason why the novel may be appealing to teenagers because shift in narration is a unique way for teenagers to read the novel. More importantly, Galloway really emphasizes the power of music through the Cellist. The Cellist is an essential character, who without him, the novel would be a bland novel. Although the characters are fictional, Galloway’s style of writing through multiple literary devices such as imagery, foreshadowing, symbolism, simile, allusion, etc., adds more realistic and alive features to the characters.  Above all, Galloway provides countless images for those who are imaginative readers. The novel also relates to human nature, free will versus fate. Galloway integrates this logic within the novel, which is expressed through the three main characters. Therefore, the novel is strongly recommended for readers who enjoy relating the novel to their own personal life.

On the other hand, the novel can be confusing in many ways. Dragan’s story lasts for a day, Kenan a period of six days, and Arrow ten days. Therefore, this temporal distortion causes confusion for readers. Likewise, because the book begins in the midst of the plot, readers can be puzzled about the story and the action happening as they read. As a result, flashbacks are used frequently to relieve the confusion. This is helpful because it explains the stories not told within the novel, and answers the question readers may have. In conclusion, The Cellist of Sarajevo is an excellent book for readers who enjoy historical fiction with an exhilarating plot. Well done, Steven Galloway!