An Intro to "The Cellist of Sarajevo"

1. The novel I have select is called "The Cellist of Sarajevo". The book was written by Steven Galloway who is a Canadian author. The Cellist of Sarajevo has 258 pages and was published in Toronto in 2008 by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

2. The reason I selected this book for my ISU was because my brother and my brother’s girlfriend have read the book. Both of them recommend that I use this book for my ISU because it is a Globe and Mail bestselling book by a Canadian author. They also told me that it was a good book to read with a good message at the end of the novel and a very interesting story throughout the book.

3. I have read a small portion of the book so far and so far I am enjoying what I read. I got an introduction to the main character in the book and already I have strong feel for the setting of where the book takes place. After reading what I have I already have a strong visual for what this novel could be about and what might happen, I am really excited to start reading my novel.

4. I have only read the first chapter of the book so far. So far I have a good understanding for the first character in the book and I have a general idea of what could happen in the novel.

5.So far in the book you have gotten a general introduction to a character who is called "The Cellist" in the novel, they have yet to give him a name but you know he is the cello player at the opera in Sarajevo. You have also learned the characters father has passed on and might have been killed during the war. You have also been introduced to the setting; you know the book takes place in Sarajevo which is a city in Bosnia that was hit hard by the war which is also what’s happening. I believe the book is taking place during world war two in Sarajevo, Bosnia where the city is divided and in a state of poverty because of the constant fighting.

6. The first theme I found in the "The Cellist of Sarajevo" was war. In the war everyone seems to be affected by war and it is obvious that the entire city is affected by the fighting going on around them. I also think an important theme in the book could be women’s rights because Arrow who is the main female character is doing a lot of stuff that would be considered out of the ordinary for girls to do back in that time period. Women were not usually the ones fighting battles so I think the author could be trying to tell the reader something by making Arrow the way she is.

7. Do to the fact that this book has only been out for a short period of time I had a little bit of difficulty trying to find secondary sources. I did however come across a few book review by a couple of readers, none of the reviewers are prestigious but they all said the book was a good read and it had some excitement to it.

8. ”like every other day in recent memory, the cellist sits beside the window of his second-floor apartment and plays until he feel his hope has returned.”  (Galloway, 2)

            I thought that this particular line was inspiring. To me I thought that the cellist played his music so he could help the people of Sarajevo, music can be very uplifting and I thought that if he could restore hope to himself I am sure that he would restore hope to many other people of the city. Overall I just found that this paragraph is a symbol of hope, if a person can restore hope to himself I am sure he could restore hope to many people, it is like the cello is the voice of hope and the people are there to listen and find comfort in what it says.