This story involves a period when a cellist decides that he will play for 22 days; one for each life taken as a result of a bomb falling on a group of civilians waiting in a bread line. The cellist witnesses the event and plays at the center of the bomb crater. He plays and the war continues around him.
The book follows three main characters through this time period. Kenan is trying to collect water for his family, Dragan's family has left the city, but he has stayed to work as a baker, and Arrow an assassin. They all mourn the city as it was and are desperately trying to cope with the city as it is. Crossing the street and avoiding sniper fire is the new reality. They all learn about the cellist and encounter his playing in different ways. This book is a reminder of the human capacity to rise above hatred. A favorite line from the book is: "She didn't have to be filled with hatred. The music demanded that she remember this, that she know to a certainty that the world still held the capacity for goodness. The notes were proof of that." Music does have healing powers and the cellist is trying to heal himself and to honor the lives that were brutally taken. This book is a quick life-affirming read.
No comments:
Post a Comment