Goucher students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to read The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway over winter break as part of a community reading project and to gather with other community members this semester to discuss the book.
Chaplain Cynthia Terry, who coordinates the project, said the book discussions are informal, and no preparation is necessary to participate. She stresses that the point of the community read is to get to know other people, enjoy a great book, and talk about it.
“For students, we want them not to think of this as homework, just to read and talk,” she said. “For faculty and staff, we want folks to enjoy the book and talk, not to think of it as more work.”
In The Cellist of Sarajevo—an acclaimed, international bestseller—a cellist vows to play for 22 days in memory of 22 people who were killed waiting in line to buy bread in a war-torn city. An assortment of strangers is drawn into the orbit of the music. The book is inspired by Vedran Smailovic, a real-life 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.
The community reading project was started three years ago after Terry read Outcasts United, loved it, and wanted to discuss it with others. “We have such a long winter break, it seemed like it could be really fun for lots of people to read between semesters, then come back together and talk about it,” she said.
Goucher’s book choice follows the “One Maryland, One Book” program through the Maryland Humanities Council, which allows the college to obtain free or reduced copies of the selection. For more information, visit here, or contact Terry at 410-337-6048 or cynthia.terry@goucher.edu.