Book excerpt: The Violinist counterpoises the universe of childhood on a background of the Jewish Holocaust in Romania. It tells the story of Calmo (Lica), whose family is banned from Bucharest due to their Jewishness, as he bares witness to a world that has lost its humanity during the Second World War. In it he falls in love with a pianist, a Jewish girl named Luta; he also recounts how his own artistry playing the violin charms both enemies and friends, Romanians, Germans, and Jews. Lica's violin is today transformed into the author's pen, remastering these early experiences with maturity, yet somehow maintaining a tragic innocence. With its cinematographic narrative that blends humor with tragedy and love with music, The Violinist easily reminds one of Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful and Roman Polanski's The Pianist.