{"product_id":"the-cellist-of-sarajevo-9781594483653","title":"The Cellist of Sarajevo","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA spare and haunting, wise and beautiful novel about war and the endurance of the human spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a city under siege, four people whose lives have been upended are ultimately reminded of what it is to be human. From his window, a musician sees twenty-two of his friends and neighbors waiting in a breadline. Then, in a flash, they are killed by a mortar attack. In an act of defiance, the man picks up his cello and decides to play at the site of the shelling for twenty-two days, honoring their memory. Elsewhere, a young man leaves home to collect drinking water for his family and, in the face of danger, must weigh the value of generosity against selfish survivalism. A third man, older, sets off in search of bread and distraction and instead runs into a long-ago friend who reminds him of the city he thought he had lost, and the man he once was. As both men are drawn into the orbit of cello music, a fourth character--a young woman, a sniper--holds the fate of the cellist in her hands. As she protects him with her life, her own army prepares to challenge the kind of person she has become. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA novel of great intensity and power, and inspired by a true story, \u003ci\u003eThe Cellist of Sarajevo\u003c\/i\u003e poignantly explores how war can change one's definition of humanity, the effect of music on our emotional endurance, and how a romance with the rituals of daily life can itself be a form of resistance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSteven Galloway lives in British Columbia and teaches creative writing at the University of British Coumbia.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Riverhead Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50613285191954,"sku":"9781594483653","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ec0037f0-38c9-44d0-a842-f29cc2f0059e.jpg?v=1732394029","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-cellist-of-sarajevo-9781594483653","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}