Trams

When the war first started, the trams of Sarajevo still worked. Kenan remembers his co-worker telling him “‘There’s no war. The trams are still running’” (44). But as the war went on the men on the hills began to shoot at the trams, and their bullets killed people who rode them. Kenan remembers seeing a burning tram, and after one particularly bad fire, they stopped working entirely. For Kenan, the dysfunctional, burned down trams symbolize the horrifying stillness of wartime. “The war will not be over until the trams run again,” he tells himself (44). When they move, they will symbolize an escape from the most horrifying life he has ever known.

Cello

The cello is played beautifully by Galloway’s titular character, who remains unnamed throughout the novel. Arrow sees it before Dragan and before Kenan, noting immediately how its wood “glows rich and warm against...