About this title: I cannot imagine a lovelier, more beautifully wrought book about the depravity of war as "The Cellist of Sarajevo." Each chapter is a brief glimpse at yet another aspect of the mind, the heart, [and] the soul--ZZ Packer, author of "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere."
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Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781594483653ISBN:1594483655
Description: Good. Standard used condition. May have light reading or storage wear. All orders processed within 2 business days. Ships from Foxboro MA. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 2009-Paperback----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Edition: Hardcover Presumed First
Binding: Very Good
Publisher: Riverhead, New York
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594489860ISBN:1594489866
Description: Very Good in Very Good jacket. Hardcover Fiction Fiction: A hardcover novel in excellent condition about humanity during the seige of Sarajevo in the Balkan wars of the 1990s. read more
Description: Like New. 2009-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781843547419ISBN:1843547414
Description: Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date Published: 2008-05-15
ISBN-13:9781594489860ISBN:1594489866
Description: New. Hardback w/ DJ. Enjoyable reading copy for your personal pleasure. You are buying a Book in NEW condition with very light shelf wear to include very light edge and corner wear. Buy it Now! ! ! As always, thank you for buying this book from International Book Source, YOUR ONE source FOR ALL your BOOK related NEEDS. Please remember to CHOOSE carefully how QUICKLY you would like to RECEIVE this material FAST, or standard (on next page). Thanks again! ! ! ! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Date Published: 2008-05-15
ISBN-13:9781594489860ISBN:1594489866
Description: New in New jacket. New, hardback book with publishers inventory mark. We ship 6 days a week, generally within 24 hours; single CDs and DVDs upgraded to 1st class! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date Published: 2009-03-31
ISBN-13:9781594483653ISBN:1594483655
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781594483653. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781594483653ISBN:1594483655
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: 2nd Printing
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Knopf Canada, Toronto
Date Published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307397041ISBN:0307397041
Description: Fine. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. (CAD) No markings, Fine. Wraps, 261pp. This novel explores how people retain thier humanity under the extreme duress of war. (1.3 JM FO 1/2. read more
"This novel tells the story of three people trying to survive in Sarajevo during the siege.
One day a shell lands and kills twenty-two people waiting in line for bread, as the cellist watches from a window in his apartment. He vows to sit in the hollow where the mortar fell and play Albinoni's Adagio once a day for each of the twenty-two victims. Arrow, a female sniper, is asked to protect the cellist from a hidden shooter who is out to kill the cellist. Until now Arrow has been able to pick her own targets. She is now assigned a target and her whole life changes.
Kenan must navigate the dangerous streets to order to get water for his family and an elderly neighbour. At each intersection Kenan is paralyzed with fear as he watches people crossing get picked off by the snipers in the hills.
Dragon is out on the streets to go and get a free meal if he can only get there. His family has escaped the city. As he waits at an intersection he meets an old friend only to watch her get gunned down.
This novel brings the horrific and scary aspects of war and strife to the forefront. It is truly amazing what the people of Sarajevo endured. I found the ending of the book unsatisfying as there really was no ending.
Aside: It is very interesting that a Canadian author with an 'English' last name is writing so intensely about a war in Sarajevo."
"This is a truly exquisite book. Set in Sarajevo during the siege, it tells the separate and yet intrinsically linked tales of ordinary people living in extraordinary times. The perfectly told incidents of their mundane lives are like blood splattered silver threads, running through the crumbling city and the vague memories the reader will have of Sarajevo.
The story hinges on an historically factual but fictionalised cellist living in Sarajevo during the 4 year siege who played his cello at the site of the mortaring of people queuing to buy bread. The other characters are all fictional and yet are probably a very accurate reflection of people who did live during the siege. Ordinary people living in a time of war who each reach their own way of refusing to do so.
This book makes war more real than any statistics; makes it sadder than any photographs; and makes it more terrifying that any news report. This book makes the reader horribly aware of the fact that war involves ever single civilian in ways that are unimaginable. And it does it in a graphic-violence free, beautifully written, almost lyrical way.
The Cellist of Sarajevo has made me plan to visit Sarajevo in the near future. It also made me wonder if we will ever learn the lesson of war. Sadly, I think not.
This book is worth buying and sharing - it is beautiful.
Here are some of the stats listed at the end of the book - things I did not know: The siege lasted from April 1992 to February 1996 An average of 329 shells hit the city each day On 22 July 1993 3 777 shells hit the city 23% of all building were seriously damaged and an additional 64% sustained some damage (that's 87% of the buildings in total) 10 000 people died and 56 000 wounded And the world let it happen............."
"OK - here's where I display my woeful grasp of recent world events - I am almost 30 and so I grew up with the Siege of Sarajevo all over the news, I remember hearing them talk about Radavan Karadic and the other one (Maladic?) but I'm really not sure what instigated the war, who was on each 'side' and what-not. - As I was reading I expected the book to explain the politics of the situation in a bit more detail but in hindsight, now that I've finished the book I'm glad the author didn't.
I loved the characterisation, the three strands of narrative and the evocation of a war-torn Sarajevo seemed realistic to me (...as much as it can to someone who has never and may never be in that situation themselves!) I loved how the authour expressed the fact that during the war no-one had a 'back story'. They either wanted to forget how good they had it before the war or there was the thought that their previous world had ceased to exist completely and would never exist again so it was just too painful. Their world will now forever be tainted well into the future and beyond the war by what must have been a living hell for those inside the city.
I found all three narrative strands to be incredibly moving...
Dragan and his reluctance to cross a street for fear of the snipers in the hills - I cannot imagine a world where crossing the street becomes a life and death situation and where there seems to be no plan, rhythm or reason for one person to be targeted and another not to be. - His reluctance to chat to people he knew when he passed them in the street confused me at first but it kind of made more sense when he said it just reminded him of what used to be - that they reminded eachother of times that were so far removed from the present to make them sources of irritation and remorse.
Kenan and his death defying day long journey just to get clean water for his family - something we take for granted every day and which those inside the city took for granted every day before the war. I can't imagine anything more terrifying than trying to cross that river in full view of every sniper in the hills!
I was touched by the story of the cherry tree and how Kenan's wife managed to trade the lady some salt. It's one of those back-to-basics community spirit stories that make you glow at the warmth of human kindness (...and I know that this is now less kindness than a necessity of life but it still speaks highly of the way we ought to interact with one another, war or no war).
This was offset by those who were making money off the back of the coflict trading goods through the tunnel, swapping a washing machine for a measly bag of potatoes and onions. Those are the reprehesible portions of our society - some would say the opportunists but I take a dimmer view and the way the author counterpointed these good and bad aspects was very moving.
And the poor man that lost his dog when the queue at the brewery was shelled - that made me catch my breath. - I'm not sure why the old lady in Kenan's building was so mean but I'm glad that Kenan went back for her water bottles!
Finally Arrow - She was the most interesting of all the characters. I'm glad that she didn't compromise her principles in the end and that she evaded capture long enough to protect the cellist. Her moral core and her ability to question her own actions was part of what marked her out from others within her part of the narrative. It made me realise how easy it would be, out of fear, to just submit to whatever orders you are given and how brave it would be simply to retain your honourable behaviour standards.
All in all, this was a wonderfully simple yet thought provoking book. I'm not sure I'd read it again in a hurry because it was quite powerful. I loved how that one cellist brought a little bit of civility back to a city in the grip of the most unbelievable terror and degradation. A really deserving 5 out of 5 from me!
"Well, this book divided the Hallam Cricket Club book club. I liked it very much, but the general feeling wasn't at all positive. I thought it convincingly explored the daily horrors of living in the siege, and the sense of bewilderment that that haracters felt. The three characters whose perspectives are given in detail are all plausible, and surviving as best they can - there is real suspense in places, particularly in the struggle to cross the road with the snipers firing down on them. I think that those who didn't like it would have valued a bit more balance in the narrative, with some exploration of the perspective of the besiegers. I thoughtthis was a strength though - there was no attempt at analysis, and minimal value judgements - this is a book about struggle. Perhaps more might have been made about the cellist who played to commemorate the deaths from a mortar shell aimed at a busv market. He was a backdrop, although providing a powerful context for Arrow's story. What did I learn? Well, I remebr the news of the mortar shell on the market, and hearing from Sarajevo on the news during the siege, but I had no real idea of the conditions in the city, and this book was convincing on that. Neither did I have an idea about the brutality of the politics within the city, but I suppose on reflection it is not surprising.It is extraordinary that this could have happened in Europe, and very disappointing for me to discover my knowledge of it was so poor."
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