The Bridge on the Drina (Phoenix Fiction) by Ivo Andric
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Book Reviews of The Bridge on the Drina (Phoenix Fiction)
Book Review: If only objects could share their story with us, what would they tell?
Summary: 5 Stars
Ivo Andric describes the history of ex-Yugoslavian region through the building and a life of a bridge. Let this not fool you. The book is not devoid but infused with emotions, feelings, and will leave the reader in cold sweet. The brutality of the life in the historical perspective of the region is given much detail. Those who have weak stomach should be careful about reading the first few chapters. You will, when you finish reading this book, understand the region and the people a bit better. And maybe by understanding the region and the people, you will get a glimpse at the volatile soil of ex-Yugoslavia, grasping the centuries of fighting, all in hopes for freedom. Some questions of recent conflicts might be answered. And you will definitely pose many more questions.
Andric received his Nobel Prize for this book, and the fact that it is one of few books written by an Yugoslavian author, which has been translated into many languages, shows its value in the international community of readers. It will hold you and it will fascinate you. You will want to throw up and it will make you cry. But, you will leave knowing that there is always a bridge leading you into realms unknown...is it heaven or hell? that is yours to decide.
Book Review: The world in a microscope
Summary: 5 Stars
In this beautiful and panoramic novel, Ivo Andric tells us the story of the little town of Visegrad, in the strategic and much-disputed Bosnia Herzegovina. The main reference is the bridge on the river Drina, a solid stone-bridge built in the XVI Century by Mohamad Pasha as a tribute to his native land. The bridge is the true protagonist of the novel. Social life, politics, and business center on the bridge, especially the central part called the kapia, where it is widest and where people sat down and had a cup of coffee talking to neighbours and watching the girls. The bridge and its life allow the author to depict the mosaic of races, cultures, and religions that is this region of the world. The novel crosses through Turkish domination, Serbian rebellions, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire's domination, starting in 1878, until the fateful year of 1914, when, for the first time, the bridge is partially destroyed (as it would be again in the 1990's wars). Through the little stories of its inhabitants, Visegrad and the bridge become a great picture of the human condition, where sad and happy stories happen, as well as the good and bad effects of each social and political change. A very pleasant reading.Book Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Some years ago I set out to read something by all of the Nobel Prize novelists. This has resulted in some long searches and some (occassionally) boring books. However, it has, in general, been a most rewarding experience. One of the highlights thus far has been "discovering" "The Bridge on the Drina". Although I read the book 14 years ago, it has stayed with me. The basic story is using the construction of a bridge centuries ago to trace the history of the Balkan area (and, occassionally, country) of Bosnia. What makes the book interesting is what makes that area interesting; the many different ethnic groups that fought over and, sometimes, co-existed in this region where the Muslim crusades were stopped but not repulsed. There are many stories centered around the bridge and they tell not only of the history of the area but of the people as well. This is a well-written, absorbing book. I have read several other books since by Ivo Andric and they have been worthwhile as well. However, it is "The Bridge on the Drina" that properly marked him as one of the better European authors of the 20th Century. This is a literary experience that you should not miss.
Book Review: Should be required reading for political and military decision-makers
Summary: 5 Stars
Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on historical reality, presented better than any source I know of. It is unfortunate that our leaders very likely have not read this book before blundering into Bosnia. Perhaps Mr. Clinton did read it - and perhaps that's why we did not commit ground troops (I am a conservative Republican - like Mrs. Clinton, I was once a Young Republican supporting Barry Goldwater, and I still believe if he won in '64 we would have a better country today - so this is not Democratic propaganda). One nation's concept of "justice" or "right" does not necessarily make sense in another area, in another culture - which after all, may be better than our own in some absolute sense.
Just read how the locals regarded the entry of Austro-Hungarian troops in the 1870s. Even though they represented the consensus of the European great powers (much like the IFOR, etc. of recent vintage), even though they brought with them sanitation, clean and well-lighted streets and equal justice for all - they were not welcome.
This book got the Nobel Prize for good reason. It is good literature, and it will educate the reader without trying...
Book Review: Across the Times
Summary: 5 Stars
This historical novel is a must for everybody who needs to travel to the Balkans, on business or pleasure.
Ivo Andric is a Nobel-prize winning author who dedicated a lot of his works to the eternal theme of bridging the differences among the cultures that made his own country -- Ex-Yugoslavia. In this novel he tells the story without a principal character, as the novel is about the history of the bridge from its beginnings to its tragic end. And while it might sound boring, the story is rich in secundary characters whose lives develop and end around the brigde, who suffer and rejoyce on its body made of stone.
Mr Andric skillfully combines the real historical facts with fictional characters, showing brutal images of Turkish rule on the Balkans, as well as love stories and choices that are difficult to understand in today's society which is not used to sacrificing everything for an idea or just pride.
After reading this novel, a foreigner will be better equipped for a travel to the Balkans, and maybe even able to understand its people a little bit more.