Community Reading Project

Goucher students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to read The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway over winter break as part of a community reading project. Early next semester, we community members will join together to participate in an informal, non-mandatory book discussion; dates and locations will be announced after the spring semester starts.

Free copies of the book are available in Goucher’s Library, the Decker Sports and Recreation Center, and the Office of Community Living. The book also is widely available through public libraries, bookstores, and online retailers.In a city ravaged by war, an unnamed cellist vows to play 22 days in memory of 22 people who were killed waiting in line to buy bread. Among the strangers drawn into the orbit of his music are a young father looking for water for his family, an older man seeking the humanity he once knew, and a young sniper deciding the kind of person she wants to be — and the cellist’s fate.Inspired by Vedran Smailovic, the cellist who, in 1992, played in a bombed-out Sarajevo square for 22 days in memory of 22 people who were killed by a mortar attack, this acclaimed and inspiring international bestseller is a tribute to the human spirit.Please read the book and enjoy; no formalized preparation is necessary for the upcoming discussions.

For more information, contact Chaplain Cynthia Terry at 410-337-6048 or cynthia.terry@goucher.edu.