The Cellist of Sarajevo

Reading the Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway almost simultaneously with Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations was a study in contrasts. Huntington is analytical, detached and almost clinical in his discussion of the conflicts that occur along the fault lines when two civilizations meet. The brutal civil war in Yugoslavia that provides the canvas for the stark portraits in the Cellist of Sarajevo is one of those fault line conflicts.

Galloway, with his spare but effective prose, provides painful glimpses into the lives of four very different people, all struggling to retain some semblance of humanity in the face of utterly inhuman conditions. There is nothing detached or clinical about his approach. Through the eyes of his characters, we come to understand the soul-crushing struggles of survival in a war zone in a way that no news story and heart-rending photos ever can. It's hard to imagine walking many miles, ever-fearful of sniper bullets, every few days to lug jugs of water for your family's needs. But with Galloway's stark descriptions, we can begin to imagine it. It's hard to imagine an economy reduced to bartering while a lucky, unscrupulous few acquire riches. But through the eyes of Galloway's characters, we can imagine it. Probably the least difficult thing to imagine is the choice to kill or be killed.

The Cellist of Sarajevo explores courage, fear, despair, and glimmers of hope in a world gone mad. It lays bare the senselessness of the conflicts wrought by our tribalism. It's uncomfortable, even painful, to read and well worth every cringe and gasp.