The Cellist of Sarajevo

by

Steven Galloway

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A middle-aged father who attempts to protect his family during the siege, Kenan’s mission during the novel is to get water for his household and for his elderly neighbor, Mrs. Ristovski. Kenan does not see himself as a hero, as he has avoided becoming a soldier in the Sarajevan army and only wants to make sure that his family makes it through this crisis. Yet Galloway asserts that Kenan is heroic in his own way, doing the hard work of braving the dangerous city to make sure that others have the resources they need. Kenan works to maintain a brave face for his wife, Amila, and their children. He dreams of rebuilding Sarajevo after the war into a place where his children can thrive. Kenan decides that the only way to be worthy of rebuilding Sarajevo after the war is to keep struggling through these hard days.

Kenan Quotes in The Cellist of Sarajevo

The The Cellist of Sarajevo quotes below are all either spoken by Kenan or refer to Kenan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
War, Civilians, and Humanity Theme Icon
).
One: Kenan Quotes

"You've never lived through a war. You have no idea what it will be like."
"It won't last long," he said. "The rest of Europe will do something to stop it from escalating."
She snorted. "That won't matter for me. I'm too old to do the things one must do in wartime to survive."
Kenan wasn't sure what she meant. He knew that she had been married just before the last war and that her husband was killed during the initial days of the German invasion. "It might not be that bad," he said, regretting it immediately, knowing it wasn't true.
"You have no idea," she repeated.
"Well," he said, "I will help you. Everyone in the building will help each other. You'll see."
Mrs. Ristovski picked up her coffee and took a sip. She didn't look at Kenan, refusing to acknowledge his smile. "We'll see," she said.

Related Characters: Kenan (speaker), Mrs. Ristovski (speaker)
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan Quotes

Men who are much older, have larger families, and are less suited to combat have enlisted. But Kenan hasn't. He knows the real reason.
He's afraid of dying. He may very well die at any time, whether he's in the army or not, but he feels that as a civilian his chances are lower, and if he's killed it will be unjust, whereas for a soldier death is part of the job.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis:

As a schoolboy, Kenan had been made to visit the small museum, now destroyed, that commemorated the assassination. He has always been slightly ashamed that, for a generation, when the world thought of Sarajevo, it was as a place of murder. It isn't clear to him how the world will think of the city now that thousands have been murdered. He suspects that what the world wants most is not to think of it at a1l.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan (Part 2) Quotes

The men on the hills made the library one of their first targets, and they took to their task with great efficiency. Kenan didn't know if it was shells that started the fire, or if someone smuggled in a bomb as they did in the post office, but he knew that as it burned they fired incendiary shells at it. He went there when he heard it was burning, without knowing why. He watched, helpless and useless, as this symbol of what the city was and what many still wanted it to be, gave in to the desires of the men on the hills.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 98
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan (Part 3) Quotes

Kenan is able to identify three types of people here. There are those who ran away as soon as the shells fell, their instinct for self-preservation stronger than their sense of altruism or civic duty. Then there are those who didn't run, who are now covered in the blood of the wounded, and they work with a myopic urgency to help those who can be saved, and to remove those who can't to go to whatever awaits them next. Then there's the third type, the group Kenan falls into. They stand, mouths gaping, and watch as others run for help. He's surprised he didn't run, isn't part of the first group, and he wishes he were part of the second.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Three: Kenan Quotes

The building behind the cellist repairs itself. The scars of bullets and shrapnel are covered by plaster and paint, and windows reassemble, clarify, and sparkle as the sun reflects off glass. The cobblestones of the road set themselves straight. Around him people stand up taller, their faces put on weight and color. Clothes gain lost thread, brighten, smooth out their wrinkles.
Kenan watches as his city heals itself around him. The cellist continues to play…

Related Characters: Kenan
Related Symbols: The Cellist, Albinoni’s Adagio
Page Number: 187
Explanation and Analysis:

He thinks of Mrs. Ristovski. He doesn't know what made her the way she is, but something has killed her, he can see now that she is a ghost as well. She has been a ghost for a long time. And to be a ghost while you're still alive is the worst thing he can imagine.

Related Characters: Kenan, Mrs. Ristovski
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:
Four: Kenan Quotes

He knows that if he wants to be one of the people who rebuild the city one of the people who have the right even to speak about how Sarajevo should repair itself then he has to go outside and face the men on the hills. His family needs water, and he will get it for them. The city is full of people doing the same as he is, and they all find a way to continue with life. They're not cowards, and they're not heroes.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis:
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Kenan Quotes in The Cellist of Sarajevo

The The Cellist of Sarajevo quotes below are all either spoken by Kenan or refer to Kenan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
War, Civilians, and Humanity Theme Icon
).
One: Kenan Quotes

"You've never lived through a war. You have no idea what it will be like."
"It won't last long," he said. "The rest of Europe will do something to stop it from escalating."
She snorted. "That won't matter for me. I'm too old to do the things one must do in wartime to survive."
Kenan wasn't sure what she meant. He knew that she had been married just before the last war and that her husband was killed during the initial days of the German invasion. "It might not be that bad," he said, regretting it immediately, knowing it wasn't true.
"You have no idea," she repeated.
"Well," he said, "I will help you. Everyone in the building will help each other. You'll see."
Mrs. Ristovski picked up her coffee and took a sip. She didn't look at Kenan, refusing to acknowledge his smile. "We'll see," she said.

Related Characters: Kenan (speaker), Mrs. Ristovski (speaker)
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan Quotes

Men who are much older, have larger families, and are less suited to combat have enlisted. But Kenan hasn't. He knows the real reason.
He's afraid of dying. He may very well die at any time, whether he's in the army or not, but he feels that as a civilian his chances are lower, and if he's killed it will be unjust, whereas for a soldier death is part of the job.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis:

As a schoolboy, Kenan had been made to visit the small museum, now destroyed, that commemorated the assassination. He has always been slightly ashamed that, for a generation, when the world thought of Sarajevo, it was as a place of murder. It isn't clear to him how the world will think of the city now that thousands have been murdered. He suspects that what the world wants most is not to think of it at a1l.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan (Part 2) Quotes

The men on the hills made the library one of their first targets, and they took to their task with great efficiency. Kenan didn't know if it was shells that started the fire, or if someone smuggled in a bomb as they did in the post office, but he knew that as it burned they fired incendiary shells at it. He went there when he heard it was burning, without knowing why. He watched, helpless and useless, as this symbol of what the city was and what many still wanted it to be, gave in to the desires of the men on the hills.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 98
Explanation and Analysis:
Two: Kenan (Part 3) Quotes

Kenan is able to identify three types of people here. There are those who ran away as soon as the shells fell, their instinct for self-preservation stronger than their sense of altruism or civic duty. Then there are those who didn't run, who are now covered in the blood of the wounded, and they work with a myopic urgency to help those who can be saved, and to remove those who can't to go to whatever awaits them next. Then there's the third type, the group Kenan falls into. They stand, mouths gaping, and watch as others run for help. He's surprised he didn't run, isn't part of the first group, and he wishes he were part of the second.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 144
Explanation and Analysis:
Three: Kenan Quotes

The building behind the cellist repairs itself. The scars of bullets and shrapnel are covered by plaster and paint, and windows reassemble, clarify, and sparkle as the sun reflects off glass. The cobblestones of the road set themselves straight. Around him people stand up taller, their faces put on weight and color. Clothes gain lost thread, brighten, smooth out their wrinkles.
Kenan watches as his city heals itself around him. The cellist continues to play…

Related Characters: Kenan
Related Symbols: The Cellist, Albinoni’s Adagio
Page Number: 187
Explanation and Analysis:

He thinks of Mrs. Ristovski. He doesn't know what made her the way she is, but something has killed her, he can see now that she is a ghost as well. She has been a ghost for a long time. And to be a ghost while you're still alive is the worst thing he can imagine.

Related Characters: Kenan, Mrs. Ristovski
Page Number: 192
Explanation and Analysis:
Four: Kenan Quotes

He knows that if he wants to be one of the people who rebuild the city one of the people who have the right even to speak about how Sarajevo should repair itself then he has to go outside and face the men on the hills. His family needs water, and he will get it for them. The city is full of people doing the same as he is, and they all find a way to continue with life. They're not cowards, and they're not heroes.

Related Characters: Kenan
Page Number: 220
Explanation and Analysis: