First Year Reading Program 2011

Welcome! We're glad you’ve come to learn more about the First Year Reading Program and are excited that you will soon be joining us on campus.

The First Year Reading Program book selected for the Class of 2015 is The Cellist of Sarajevo, by Steven Galloway. Members of the Class of 2015 will be mailed copies of the book in late summer.

The Cellist of Sarajevo is a gripping portrait of a city under siege, the small acts of humanity that come to renew it, and from the ashes, the rising, redemptive grace notes of one musician.

After witnessing a shelling that takes the lives of twenty-two civilians outside his window, a man decides he will play at the site of the attack for twenty-two days in tribute, to mark their deaths in a city bombarded relentlessly by surprise attacks and sniper fire.

Elsewhere in the city, a young man leaves home to gather clean drinking water for his family—a perilous mission that forces him to weigh the value of generosity against selfish survivalism.

A third man, older, sets out in search of bread and distraction, and instead runs into a friend from the past who reminds him of the city he has lost, and the man he once was.

As each is drawn into the web and center of the mournful adagio, a female sniper holds the fate of the cellist in her hands. While she protects him with her life, her own army prepares to challenge the kind of person she has become.

A novel of great intensity and power, The Cellist of Sarajevo is a testament to the endurance of the spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity in a time of war. (www.us.penguingroup.com)

Key Events

Throughout the academic year, there will be a number of interesting programs and events related to themes in this year's book, The Cellist of Sarajevo. Keep an eye on the Events section to learn more about what we've got planned. Key events include:

Think Outside the Crosshairs

Take a class in your pajamas over cookies and milk! Continue to explore the book and its themes through a 1-credit 8 week class that meets from 10pm to midnight in the residence halls. More information (PDF).

Faculty-led Discussions

On Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 11am, all first-year students will be participating in dynamic, faculty and administrator-led discussions of this year's book.

Assembly Series Lecture

Steven Galloway, author of The Cellist of Sarajevo
Monday, September 12th, 7 pm
College Hall, WUSTL Residential Area (South 40)
Open to all.