In LitLovers - see also discussion questions. Questions are provided by the publisher, Penguin Group.
In Quill and Quire
Swans commentary, In The Cellist Of Sarajevo Is Fiction A License To Lie?
It will be Toronto Library One Book.
The Book Boutique
The NY Times reported widely about the siege of Sarajevo in the 1990s, here is an article titled The Music Helps Sarajevo Stay Sane During War
The Princeton Book Review says:
"This is a
fictionalized account of true events that occurred during the siege of
Sarajevo. After witnessing the death of 22 people, killed by mortar shells
while waiting on line for bread, a cellist, risks his life to play Albinoin’s
Adagio for the next 22 days to honor them. Galloway presents a vivid in-depth
picture of living in war torn city. He does this by following the daily routine
of several people and examining their thoughts over the course of the three
weeks the cellist played. Through Kenan and Dagnan we witness the difficulty
and danger of obtaining water or crossing a street to go to work; their fear of
death from opposition snipers is palpable and not easily forgotten. Their
thoughts as they rationalize the process, hope for a better future and long for
the past are haunting. My favorite character by far is Arrow. She is complex
and ruthless, harden by war but very human. As an expert sniper her job is to
protect the cellist and when she takes center stage, the tension and suspense
builds. Although the style of the book is literary, at times it reads more like
a documentary so it may not be a book for everyone.
Book Club
Talking Points:
This book brings to light the atrocities the human race
is capable of, provoking thought on the senselessness of war and the capacity
of man to kill another human being. Arrow’s character will spark the most
debate. Her thoughts as she seeks to avenge her fellow townspeople are as
conflicted as her actions. For me the hardest concept to grasp was the fact
that the story is based on true events. The cellist, although not developed to
a great extent in the book, was without a doubt integral to the story, especially
if you try to define the mindset necessary to do what he did.
Arrow was not a fictional character, however, the actions attributed to her by Galloway were fictional. Galloway gives Arrow morality where the real arrow had none. She was a trained marksman who participated as a member of the Jugoslav winter Olympics team and she was used by Izetbegovic to kill anything that moved on the Serbian side. Galloway ignores the fact that she was nothing more than a killer.
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