To be blunt, I have never been a big fan of Independent Studies, or even English for that matter. I would say that I am still on that same page at the conclusion of this project. However, I did really love this book. I picked it up because I tend to like adventure stories with enthralling plots and fast-paced action. The Cellist of Sarajevo was not like that at all, but it was still a very enjoyable read for me. Reading this novel exposed me to a kind of literature that I usually run away screaming from: a recount or real historical events. Steven Galloway made his novel interesting by involving characters that, although they were not real people, very easily could be. This book had a very humane and realistic vibe to it that was complimented by the knowledge that the siege of Sarajevo is a tragedy that really did happen not too long ago. I found it to be very relatable, and perhaps that was the gripping factor for me.
I would say that I am a stronger writer that I was at the beginning of this ISU. Being forced to write in response style, then opinionated and using quotes from the book and book reviews all the while has definitely tested and improved my writing. Having a world-wide audience did not really affect what I wrote, just the way in which I wrote it. I did more editing and noticed that my thoughts were coming out sounding more organized and sensible than they do in my head. Knowing that anyone can read what I write made me want to be more formal about the whole thing.
So what have I learned about Canadian literature? Well, I’ve learned that it’s fantastic! I have discovered that it really as not all boring, long and cryptic. Reading this novel I learned a lot about history, and I learned a touching, timeless lesson on perseverance and what it means to work together and never ever give up hope.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Apologia
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is "a profoundly moving and universal novel about what it means to be human in the face of atrocity." (The Cellist of Sarajevo - Book Review) It’s the incredibly humane and realistic quality of this novel that gripped me as the reader. It wasn’t the setting or the plot, although they complimented the theme nicely. "The themes and characters [in this novel] exist wherever ordinary people find themselves caught in war. Sarajevo could have been Lebannon or Chechnva or Iraq or a half-dozen other places." (The Cellist of Sarajevo - Book Review) And the fact that the situation in this novel is so real and is happening in our world today makes it so much easier to be immersed in the story.
This novel is based on the events that occurred in Sarajevo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The sniping from the men on the hills and the innocent deaths and struggles of men, women and children in the city are real tragedies from the past. However, it’s not this idea of it being a ‘true story’ that makes it so real and human. It is the way in which the characters are so imperfect, broken and accordingly real that they remind us of someone we know, or maybe even ourselves. It’s the theme of perseverance and never ever giving up and doing the right thing by reaching out to someone else even if it doesn’t benefit you. It’s the manner of which these brave people struggle not to give in, to let the war make their decisions and steal their humanity. In any ordinary adventure noel there are struggles, usually overcome by the amazing hero who is not wavered by anything. However, this novel is more human than any of those because the characters, try as they might, cannot always keep up their hope. They falter, and they are scared. Dragan doesn’t rescue Emina, he watches as someone else does. Kenan doesn’t help the wounded after the explosion, as he can’t even make himself move. Arrow kills the sniper when he was only enjoying the cellist’s music. They all make mistakes and they all lose and regain hope. This is what makes them so incredibly human and so much more real than the heroes of adventure stories.
Steven Galloway "really wanted to write a book about what high-pressure, wartime situations do to ordinary people — not professional soldiers, or generals or politicians." (Music for a Broken City) It is these ordinary people in his book that make the story so relatable. Readers can relate their lives to the situations of the characters. Maybe one reader is a cellist, or one works at a bakery, like Dragan. It might be easy for them to see how their lives differ from those in the novel. It might not be as easy for them to see what they would do in the place of one of the characters.
This novel and it’s author are each a prize in Canadian literature. It’s not hard to find a writer who can create exciting dramatic plots, or paint meticulous settings in your head, or make up charismatic and heroic characters. However, an author who can create a work of such humanity in a style in which mostly any age of reader can enjoy is a gem. The Cellist or Sarajevo is timeless. There will never come a time when suffering and struggles will not be a part of humanity, and so this book will always touch every person who reads it. The theme of reaching out to others and banding together to keep up each other’s hope will always inspire awe and grief and pathos in the reader, driving them to do the same with their life.
This novel is based on the events that occurred in Sarajevo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The sniping from the men on the hills and the innocent deaths and struggles of men, women and children in the city are real tragedies from the past. However, it’s not this idea of it being a ‘true story’ that makes it so real and human. It is the way in which the characters are so imperfect, broken and accordingly real that they remind us of someone we know, or maybe even ourselves. It’s the theme of perseverance and never ever giving up and doing the right thing by reaching out to someone else even if it doesn’t benefit you. It’s the manner of which these brave people struggle not to give in, to let the war make their decisions and steal their humanity. In any ordinary adventure noel there are struggles, usually overcome by the amazing hero who is not wavered by anything. However, this novel is more human than any of those because the characters, try as they might, cannot always keep up their hope. They falter, and they are scared. Dragan doesn’t rescue Emina, he watches as someone else does. Kenan doesn’t help the wounded after the explosion, as he can’t even make himself move. Arrow kills the sniper when he was only enjoying the cellist’s music. They all make mistakes and they all lose and regain hope. This is what makes them so incredibly human and so much more real than the heroes of adventure stories.
Steven Galloway "really wanted to write a book about what high-pressure, wartime situations do to ordinary people — not professional soldiers, or generals or politicians." (Music for a Broken City) It is these ordinary people in his book that make the story so relatable. Readers can relate their lives to the situations of the characters. Maybe one reader is a cellist, or one works at a bakery, like Dragan. It might be easy for them to see how their lives differ from those in the novel. It might not be as easy for them to see what they would do in the place of one of the characters.
This novel and it’s author are each a prize in Canadian literature. It’s not hard to find a writer who can create exciting dramatic plots, or paint meticulous settings in your head, or make up charismatic and heroic characters. However, an author who can create a work of such humanity in a style in which mostly any age of reader can enjoy is a gem. The Cellist or Sarajevo is timeless. There will never come a time when suffering and struggles will not be a part of humanity, and so this book will always touch every person who reads it. The theme of reaching out to others and banding together to keep up each other’s hope will always inspire awe and grief and pathos in the reader, driving them to do the same with their life.
Explication of Self-Sacrafice for an Ideal in The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
In the novel The Cellist of Sarajevo you couldn’t possibly find a more obvious and touching theme than self-sacrifice for an ideal. The ideal being, of course, a city not destroyed by war, streets not subject to sniper fire, homes not victim of shelling, and citizens’ spirits not broken.
This novel is about 4 very different human beings attempting to survive in their city through the terror or sniping on the streets and random shelling of markets, hospitals, homes and other places. They seem to not be connected at all at first. However as the story evolves, it is clear that they all are connected by the cellist’s music. Or, more exclusively, the hope it brings to them. Throughout the novel, they must decide “whether or not they will allow the war to make decisions for them and steal their humanity, or if instead they will reach out to [one] another and do what is right, even if it means they will not survive.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo – Book Review) Though they stumble, and their hope falters, they are all sacrificing something tremendous in order to try to rebuild their city.
Every 4 days, Kenan walks to the brewery to get water for his family and for the grouchy, uncooperative and ungrateful Ms. Ristovski. He faces death every day for the good of his family, which many might do. He also risks quite a lot for Ms. Ristovski. Why? When Kenan hears the cellist play he “watches as his city heals itself around him.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) He knows that the only way to rebuild his beloved city is by helping others, even if the favor is not returned or even appreciated. Kenan is “tired of getting water, and he’s tired of the world he lives in. He’s tired of carrying water for a woman who has never had a kind word to say to him,” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) but he still does it. He knows that when people stop helping one another and stop hoping is when the city will truly be destroyed.
The cellist makes a sacrifice every day for twenty two days. He sits in the middle of the street playing his cello. What does he hope to accomplish? He won’t bring back the dead, he won’t save the living, and he won’t replace a single shattered window or brick. The ideal that he makes self-sacrifice for is hope, and his music does give people hope. He is putting his life on the line to play a song on his cello, a seemingly insignificant thing to do. However, the cellist knows that what his city needs is a new hope. Something beautiful in the midst of terror to remind them of what they are fighting for. Playing the cello is all he can do, and so he throws himself into it completely and hopes that others will do what they can and make sacrifices as well for the ideal of a united and rebuilt city.
Dragan and Arrow make sacrifices too. As well as Emina, Nermin, Kenan’s wife and children, and many other people in this story who help the wounded, rescue a stranger, or share their food with a neighbor. The futility of war is manifested a million times in the hopes and wishes of these people. They are in no way responsible for it, but still they suffer. They do their best to face it with hope and courage, making small sacrifices that help others in a big way. All of these brave individuals are each sacrificing a little, or in some cases a lot for the sake of their city and the citizens. They are all working toward the shinning ideal of a new hope for a broken city.
This novel is about 4 very different human beings attempting to survive in their city through the terror or sniping on the streets and random shelling of markets, hospitals, homes and other places. They seem to not be connected at all at first. However as the story evolves, it is clear that they all are connected by the cellist’s music. Or, more exclusively, the hope it brings to them. Throughout the novel, they must decide “whether or not they will allow the war to make decisions for them and steal their humanity, or if instead they will reach out to [one] another and do what is right, even if it means they will not survive.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo – Book Review) Though they stumble, and their hope falters, they are all sacrificing something tremendous in order to try to rebuild their city.
Every 4 days, Kenan walks to the brewery to get water for his family and for the grouchy, uncooperative and ungrateful Ms. Ristovski. He faces death every day for the good of his family, which many might do. He also risks quite a lot for Ms. Ristovski. Why? When Kenan hears the cellist play he “watches as his city heals itself around him.” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) He knows that the only way to rebuild his beloved city is by helping others, even if the favor is not returned or even appreciated. Kenan is “tired of getting water, and he’s tired of the world he lives in. He’s tired of carrying water for a woman who has never had a kind word to say to him,” (The Cellist of Sarajevo) but he still does it. He knows that when people stop helping one another and stop hoping is when the city will truly be destroyed.
The cellist makes a sacrifice every day for twenty two days. He sits in the middle of the street playing his cello. What does he hope to accomplish? He won’t bring back the dead, he won’t save the living, and he won’t replace a single shattered window or brick. The ideal that he makes self-sacrifice for is hope, and his music does give people hope. He is putting his life on the line to play a song on his cello, a seemingly insignificant thing to do. However, the cellist knows that what his city needs is a new hope. Something beautiful in the midst of terror to remind them of what they are fighting for. Playing the cello is all he can do, and so he throws himself into it completely and hopes that others will do what they can and make sacrifices as well for the ideal of a united and rebuilt city.
Dragan and Arrow make sacrifices too. As well as Emina, Nermin, Kenan’s wife and children, and many other people in this story who help the wounded, rescue a stranger, or share their food with a neighbor. The futility of war is manifested a million times in the hopes and wishes of these people. They are in no way responsible for it, but still they suffer. They do their best to face it with hope and courage, making small sacrifices that help others in a big way. All of these brave individuals are each sacrificing a little, or in some cases a lot for the sake of their city and the citizens. They are all working toward the shinning ideal of a new hope for a broken city.
Works Cited
Chopra, Swati. “Positive Chronicles – The Cellist of Sarajevo.” 2008. http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/Positive_Chronicles/The_cellist_of_Sarajevo.asp. (19 Apr 2008)
Galloway, Steven. The Cellist of Sarajevo. Toronto: Random House of Canada Limited, 2008.
Grace, Gillian. “Music for a Broken City.” 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/galloway.html. (19 Apr 2008)
N/A. “The Cellist of Sarajevo – Book Review.” 2008. http://www.caribousmom.com/2008/04/11/the-cellist-of-sarajevo-book-review/. (19 Apr 2008)
Tripathy, Gautami. “The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.” 2009. http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2009/01/cellist-of-sarajevo-by-steven-galloway.html. (19 Apr 2008)
Galloway, Steven. The Cellist of Sarajevo. Toronto: Random House of Canada Limited, 2008.
Grace, Gillian. “Music for a Broken City.” 2008. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/galloway.html. (19 Apr 2008)
N/A. “The Cellist of Sarajevo – Book Review.” 2008. http://www.caribousmom.com/2008/04/11/the-cellist-of-sarajevo-book-review/. (19 Apr 2008)
Tripathy, Gautami. “The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.” 2009. http://readingandmorereading.blogspot.com/2009/01/cellist-of-sarajevo-by-steven-galloway.html. (19 Apr 2008)
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