Bookclub-in-a-Box presents the
Novel Notes Mini-Guide
discussion companion for
Steven Galloway’s novel
The Cellist of Sarajevo
Paperback novel published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada,
Toronto, Canada. 2008.
Novel ISBN: 978-0-307-39703-4
Quotations used in this guide have been taken from the text of the
paperback edition of The Cellist of Sarajevo. All information taken
from other sources is acknowledged.
This discussion companion was written by Rona Arato and
Marilyn Herbert, B.Ed. Herbert is the founder of Bookclub-in-aBox and an international speaker with more than 30 years experience as a teacher and school librarian. Bookclub-in-a-Box is a
unique guide to current fiction and classic literature intended for
book club discussions, educational study seminars, and personal
pleasure. For more information about the Bookclub-in-a-Box team,
visit our website.
Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion companion for
The Cellist of Sarajevo
(E-PUB) ISBN: 978-1-927121-50-4
(E-PDF) ISBN: 978-1-927121-51-1
This guide reflects the perspective of the Bookclub-in-a-Box team
and is the sole property of Bookclub-in-a-Box.
© 2014 BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX
Unauthorized reproduction of this book or its contents for republication in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
C O N T E N T S
1
BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX
Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo
READERS AND LEADERS GUIDE
2
WRITING STYLE AND STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION
Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Novel Quickline . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Keys to the Novel . . . . . . . . . . .7
Structure: Sonata . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Author Information . . . . . . . . . .9
SYMBOLS
Historical Background . . . . . . . .9
Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
CHARACTERIZATION
Dogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
The Cellist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Hats/Coats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Arrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Bridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Dragan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Graves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Kenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Men in the Hills . . . . . . . . . . . .17
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS . . . . . .33
FOCUS POINTS AND THEMES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. . . . . . . . 37
Chance, Choice, Decisions . . . . .19
Survivor Guilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Silence, Shame, Grief . . . . . . . . .21
Visible and Invisible Danger . . .22
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BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX
Readers and Leaders Guide
Each Bookclub-in-a-Box guide is clearly and effectively organized to give
you information and ideas for a lively discussion, as well as to present the
major highlights of the novel. The format, with a Table of Contents, allows
you to pick and choose the specific points you wish to talk about. It does
not have to be used in any prescribed order. In fact, it is meant to support,
not determine, your discussion.
You Choose What to Use.
You may find that some information is repeated in more than one section
and may be cross-referenced so as to provide insight on the same idea from
different angles.
The guide is formatted to give you extra space to make your own notes.
How to Begin
Relax and look forward to enjoying your book club.
With Bookclub-in-a-Box as your behind the scenes support, there is little
for you to do in the way of preparation.
Some readers like to review the guide after reading the novel; some before.
Either way, the guide is all you will need as a companion for your discussion. You may find that the guide’s interpretation, information, and background have sparked other ideas not included.
Having read the novel and armed with Bookclub-in-a-Box, you will be well
prepared to lead or guide or listen to the discussion at hand.
Lastly, if you need some more “hands on” support, feel free to contact us.
What to Look For
Each Bookclub-in-a-Box guide is divided into easy-to-use sections, which
include points on characters, themes, writing style and structure, literary or
historical background, author information, and other pertinent features
unique to the novel being discussed. These may vary slightly from guide to
guide.
r e a d e rs
a n d
l e a d e rs
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INTERPRETATION OF EACH NOVEL REFLECTS THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE
BOOKCLUB-IN-A-BOX TEAM.
Do We Need to Agree?
THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IS NO.
If we have sparked a discussion or a debate on certain points, then we are
happy. We invite you to share your group’s alternative findings and experiences. You can contact us via our website (www.bookclubinabox.com), by
email (info@bookclubinabox.com), or by phone (1-866-578-5571). We
would love to hear from you.
Discussion Starters
There are as many ways to begin a book club discussion as there are members in your -group. If you are an experienced group, you will already have
your favorite ways to begin. If you are a newly formed group or a group
looking for new ideas, here are some suggestions.
• Ask for people’s impressions of the novel. (This will give you some idea
about which parts of the unit to focus on.)
• Identify a favorite or major character.
• Identify a favorite or major idea.
• Begin with a powerful or pertinent quote. (Not necessarily from the
novel.)
• Discuss the historical information of the novel. (Not applicable to all
novels.)
• If this author is familiar to the group, discuss the range of his/her work
and where this novel stands in that range.
• Use the discussion topics and questions in the Bookclub-in-a-Box guide.
If you have further suggestions for discussion starters, be sure to share them
with us and we will share them with others.
Above All, Enjoy Yourselves
INTRODUCTION
Novel Quickline
Keys to the Novel
Author Information
Historical Background
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INTRODUCTION
Novel Quickline
A tall man with turbulent black hair, an almost comic moustache and the
saddest face she has ever seen emerges from a doorway … He walks out of
the building with a calm and determined stride, appearing oblivious to the
danger he’s putting himself in, sets his stool in the middle of the street, sits
down and positions his instrument between his legs …
The cellist opens his eyes. The sadness she saw in his face is gone … His
arms rise, and his left hand grips the neck of the cello, his right guides the
bow to its throat … When the first notes sound they are … inaudible.
Sound has vanished from the world. (p. 73, 74)
For 22 days after the murder of 22 people lined up for bread, the cellist sat
in the shadow of the ruined library and played Albinoni’s “Adagio.” It was
either an incredible act of courage or absolute folly. He was a sitting target,
perfect for the random attacks that came from the men on the hills.
Who will protect the musician? Has the situation in the city sunk so low
that even music is to be murdered? Steven Galloway explores the desperation of life in Sarajevo through three characters: Arrow, Dragan, and
Kenan. We follow them through the devastated streets and hear their voices as they cope with their now daily state of affairs.
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i n t ro du c t i o n
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Arrow, a well-known crack shot, is asked to protect the cellist. She must
find the sniper that most certainly has been sent to kill the cellist and she
must, in turn, eradicate him. Dragan, a baker, leaves home daily, headed for
the bakery across town. There he may or may not work, but at least he will
eat. This will relieve his family’s obligation to feed him. Kenan, a young
husband and father, has no work because his workplace has been destroyed.
He ventures into the streets every fourth day to fetch water for his wife,
children, and his mean-spirited neighbor, Mrs. Ristovski.
Steven Galloway has painted a portrait of the Siege of Sarajevo
(1992–1996) that will not be soon forgotten.
Keys to the Novel
Location
•
“Sarajevo” is a familiar name to many people. It is a city in BosniaHerzogovina that, except for its 15 minutes of fame in the 1990s, is not
usually regarded as a newsmaking world hotspot in the same way that
Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria have become.
• No one talks about how the shot that started the First World War took
place on the same Princip Bridge that Kenan is trying to cross; and very
few remember the glorious winter Olympics of 1984 that were held in
the very hills from which the “anonymous” men targeted their victims.
Even the dreadful Sarajevo Siege of 1992–1996 has been overshadowed
by other world events and catastrophes.
•
It is odd that this seemingly unremarkable city opened and closed the
20th century in a significant way — with war and destruction.
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War
“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”
— Leon Trotsky
• The author uses this quote to introduce the novel as a way of setting the
mood of the story. People are caught up in wars, not of their making,
and they must cope with the consequences. Galloway uses the historical
truth of the Bosnian war to discuss the emotional truth of survival in
war. He seeks to explore what war does to the ordinary people who are
caught in the middle of divisive forces of hate. He chooses the real location of Sarajevo precisely because it happened in fairly recent memory.
For the people of the city, it was over but not forgotten.
• He took up this challenge by framing it inside the idea of music, which
we all accept as a healing force.
Music
• Music is the audible backdrop to the story, replacing the guns of war. It
contrasts the destruction by reminding us of its redemptive power. The
novel is not about the real or fictional cellist nor about his motives for
playing where and when he does. It is about how music highlights the
cellist’s chosen behavior and how that affects the actions of each character. As all three, Dragan, Kenan, Arrow, stop to listen to the playing,
the music gives each of them a reason to pause, consider, and perhaps,
change their perspective. At the very least, the music raises them up from
the depths to which they have sunk.
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