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."
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781594489860ISBN:1594489866
Description: Fine. Straight spine with no creases. Cover has no damage and pages show little wear. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books Canada
Date published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307397041ISBN:0307397041
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
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
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books Canada
Date published: 2009
ISBN-13:9780307397041ISBN:0307397041
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
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Riverhead Books
Date published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781594483653ISBN:1594483655
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. 100% satisfaction guaranteed. No Remainder Mark, No Damage. Ship twice daily. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 235 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Date published: 2009
ISBN-13:9781843547419ISBN:1843547414
Description: Acceptable. EX-LIBRARY COPY. May contain log sheet and 'Withdrawn' stamp. A readable copy showing signs of wear. Orders are dispatched daily from the UK, supported by complete customer service. read more
"History and philosphy (sp) about life under stress, the power of the human spirit, the decisions we all must make. So readable, so profound, so simple. And rather short. Though the subject is not "happy," the book left me feeling wiser and empowered, and with more knowledge of history!"
"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."
"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."
"Very crisp and austere and yet very elegant. I do know that the story is not historically accurate -- he talks a bit about how he came to write the book in the acknowledgements. Although the characters tended to seem like amalgams, it stilled seemed very accurate as far as characterization is concerned. The ending surprised me. And I felt it was very satisfying. I do not think it was a truly "real" book, but rather that it did what it set out to do within the parameters which are laid out by the author.
It is in interesting contrast to Midnight's Children, which I also just read. Another chronicle of a hopeless situation, Midnight's Children is like chewing an aspirin (for a long time). The Cellist, is not quite as mature, but definitely not so bitter. The hope the story generates in you centers not around the resolution of the conflict itself, but in the way each person in the story tries to maintain his humanity in the midst of redundant horrors. In a way it gives you too much of what you might expect all the way through -- and yet at the end I was surprised."
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