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Steven Galloway

Steven Galloway Biography

Novelist

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“This is his home, and this is the city he wants to be in. He doesn’t want to live under siege for the rest of this life, but to abandon the city to the men on the hills would mean that he would be forever homeless. As long as he’s here, and as long as he can keep his fear of death from blinding him to what’s left of the world he once loved and could love again, then there’s still hope that one day he will be able to walk openly down the streets of this city with his wife and son, sit in a restaurant and eat a meal, browse the windows of shops, free from the men with guns.”

HomeHopeSiege
Book:The Cellist of Sarajevo
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“A little farther south he passes the Music Academy. The building is over a hundred years old, and has been training young musicians for forty. A harp sits atop a cupola facing the street corner. Between the windows of the third and the fourth floor, a rocket-propelled grenade has punched a hole through the wall. Inside, another grenade has blown through the wall in the main concert room, but still Kenan hears the sound of pianos coming from within. Several different pieces are being played in various parts of the building, and the music blends together, sometimes becoming unintelligible, a muddy noise of strings struck by hammers, but every so often one of the songs pauses, creating a space for anothe rto emerge, and a few solitary notes of a melody slip out into the street.”

WarSufferingHumanityMusicPianoCitySarajevoMusic School
Book:The Cellist of Sarajevo
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“Ten years ago, when she was eighteen and not called Arrow, she borrowed her father's car and drove to the countryside to visit friends. It was a bright, clear day, and the car felt alive to her, as though she and the car moving together was some sort of destiny, and everything was happening exactly as it ought to. As she rounded the corner, one of her favourite songs came on the radio, and sunlight filtered through the trees the way it does with lace curtains, reminding her of her grandmother, and tears began to slide down her cheek. Not for her grandmother, who was then very much alive, but because she felt an enveloping happiness to be alive, a joy made stronger by the certainty that someday it would all come to an end. It overwhelmed her, and made her pull to the side of the road. Afterwards she felt a little foolish, and never spoke to anyone about it. Now, however, she knows she wasn't being foolish. She realizes that for no particular reason she stumbled into the core of what it means to be human. It's a rare gift to understand that your life is wonderous, and that it won't last forever.”

Beauty
Book:Cellist of Sarajevo
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“As she rounded a corner one of her favourite songs came on the radio, and sunlight filtered through the trees the way it does with lace curtains, reminding her of her grandmother, and tears began to slide down her cheeks. Not for her grandmother, who was then still very much among the living, but because she felt an enveloping happiness to be alive, a joy made stronger by the certainty that someday it would all come to an end. It overwhelmed her, made her pull the car to the side of the road. Afterwards she felt a little foolish, and never spoke to anyone about it. Now, however, she knows she wasn’t being foolish. She realizes that for no particular reason she stumbled into the core of what it is to be human. It’s a rare gift to understand that your life is wondrous, and that it won’t last forever.”

HumilityInsightLife ChangingMortalityOverwhelming
Book:The Cellist of Sarajevo
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“She felt an enveloping happiness to be alive, a joy made stronger by the certainty that someday it would all come to an end. Afterward she felt a little foolish, and never spoke to anyone about it. Now, however, she knows she wasn't being foolish. She realizes that for no particular reason she stumbled into the core of what it is to be human. It's a rare gift to under stand that you life is wondrous, and that it won't last forever.”

KnowsHumansLittlesMadeEndsReasonLastsLife IsJoyFeltRealizingForeverAliveParticularStrongerFoolishCoreCertaintySomedaySpokesWondrous
Author:Steven Galloway
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“Because civilization isn't a thing that you build and then there it is, you have it forever. It needs to be built constantly, recreated daily. It vanishes far more quickly than he ever would have thought possible. And if he wishes to live, he must do what he can to prevent the world he wants to live in from fading away. As long as there's war, life is a preventative measure.”

IfsWorldWantNeedsLongWarLife IsWishForeverCivilizationBuiltFadingFading Away
Book:The Cellist of Sarajevo
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“Most argument, and in fact most conflict, has nothing to do with the present. It's always about the past or the future. People can't agree on the details of what has happened or is going to happen. But we rarely know what has happened, and we never know what is going to happen. What is really at dispute is how we will deal with not knowing.”

PeopleKnowsFactsHappensPastDealsKnowingHappenedConflictArgumentAgreeDetailsNot KnowingDisputes
Book:The Confabulist: A Novel
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