THE CELLIST OF SARAJEVO by Steven Galloway

Set during the siege of Sarajevo, chapters alternate between the POVs of three different natives of the city, and revolve loosely around a cellist who puts himself at risk to snipers, to play the same piece every day in a public plaza. I loved the first half of this book, its poignancy, its spare, elegant prose. But as I got further along, I found it somewhat repetitive... umpteen descriptions of the characters waiting in the shadows for the right moment to dash into the open and across the street, and not enough characterization to distinguish one POV or character from the next. The two male voices in particular were hard to distinguish from one another. Nevertheless, a highly worthwhile read with critical themes and ideas.