War and Music
Illustration by ChatGPT “Nothing good will happen because of politics,” says one of the characters in Steven Glloway’s eminent novel, The Cellist of Sarajevo . “Nothing good will happen without politics,” another character counters. Written against the backdrop of the Siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the 1990s, this novel is yet another poignant reminder about the utter futility and cruelty of war. Who are affected by a war? Not the rulers who issue commands from their respective palaces. The ordinary men and women who strive to go about their daily lives are the real victims of a war. Kenan, an ordinary man in the novel, faces the agonising dilemma of crossing the city to get water for his family. Dragan, another ordinary man, doesn’t know who among his friends he can trust now. Arrow, an ordinary woman who takes up weapons in order to defend her country, finds herself pushed to her limits – of body and soul, fear and humanity. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu we...
