The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway is a look into a war-torn city from the viewpoints of 3 different people. The premise of the book is that a cellist, in memory of 22 people killed while waiting in line for bread, will play a particular piece once every day for 22 days, 1 day for each person. The cellist becomes a becon of light and hope to all within the city, even the sniper sent to assassinate him, and makes the city beautiful again, if only for a few moments. It is a Canadian work of fiction, but one can get a glimpse of how corrupt and demoralizing a war can be on a people; a people once so proud of their city that has now be reduced to walking miles for water every few days just to survive, and not knowing if they are going to make it home alive; the internal struggle when someone sees someone shot down and debates himself on whether or not to help at the risk of becoming the next target. Makes one wonder, what would you do in a similiar situation?
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