A Place of Springs - Hannah Colby

Daniel, a world-famous and charismatic pianist teaching at the conservatoire in Sarajevo, lodges with the Vidakovic family - Adam, Finola and their musical daughter, Irena. As the fighting escalates, Daniel returns home to London, but cannot help but worries constantly about his friends still in Sarajevo. With the help of a war correspondent, he returns to the besieged city. Amidst the fighting, his perception of himself is dramatically altered.

Colby writes with a measured and sanguine wisdom. She manages to give equal sympathy to her protagonists in their struggles to achieve acceptance of the terrible course of events and their changed circumstances. The love story is both tragic and happy.

This is Colby's first novel and her meticulous research stands as a memorial to the suffering in Bosnia. She has also communicated her love of music and a life's experience of human hopes and frailties.