This is an extraordinary novel, a true epic of 400 years of bosnian history. We often assign metaphysical powers to grand urban assets like the eiffel tower, but this book made the reader cherish a rural stone bridge as a precious jewel that made life grander and more meaningful for all the villagers who come in contact with it. The bridge on the drina by ivo andric, 9780226020457, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The effects of war and terrorism are thus themes in the book, but more important is the idea of the bridge as. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Thanks to nobel prize winner author ivo andrics classic novel called bridge on the drina, this masonry bridge gained international. The book deviates from other texts that have been described as chronicles in that the narrator observes events itinerantly and retrospectively. Parts of it put me to sleep but then every now and then there would be this beautifully structured sentence or this profound thought. A vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upo. Sep 23, 2019 the bridge on the drina is the type of book that has to be discussed and picked apart. Jan 20, 2020 being the most famous landmark of visegrad, mehmed pasha sokolovic bridge spans the glorious drina river. Andric wrote the novel while living quietly in belgrade during world war ii, publishing it in 1945. Ivo andrics the bridge over the drina forces the reader to recognise this. This glorious 11arch bridge was built in 1571 by the chief architect of the ottoman empire, mimar sinan.
The novel examines select people across three and a half centuries whose lives revolve around the bridge. The bridge on the drina isnt just the big daddy of serbian literature, it holds that position when it comes to all fiction from this part of the world, full stop. Its unusual and delightful how this really is the story of the bridge on the drina, rather than of any of. Its unusual and delightful how this really is the story of the bridge on the drina, rather than of any of the particular people who are involved with it, though of course they are important, too. The bridge on the drina by ivo andric translated from the serbocroat by lovett f. You simply cant digest it without discussing it in some way. Visegrad, bosnia and herzegovina, has always been a borderline town. A vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of bosnia from the late 16th century to the beginning of world war i, the bridge on the drina was awarded the nobel prize for literature in 1961.
The book is set round the bridge in the town of visegrad and surrounding areas in bosnia in the 16th century. Jun 01, 2017 the book the bridge on the drina is a fictionalized history of all that happened on that bridge. The book series phoenix fiction published or distributed by the university of chicago press. The bridge on the drina by ivo andric is a novel that tells the story of the town of visegrad over span of four hundred years. They entered there into the unconscious philosophy of the town. The bridge on the drina is a historical novel by the serbian writer ivo andric. Buy the bridge over the drina new ed by ivo andric, lovett f. The book the bridge on the drina, ivo andric is published by university of chicago press. Andric was the only yugoslav to win the nobel prize in literature, and it was his iconic telling of life in ottoman bosnia that brought the prize to his home in belgrade. It revolves around the mehmed pasa sokolovic bridge in visegrad, which spans the drina river and stands as a silent witness to history from its construction by the ottomans in the mid16th century until its partial destruction.
The bridge over the drina shows us, quite without judgment, how in that strange human game which is called war monstrous acts are committed and ordinary people are swept along but that. The bridge on the drina project gutenberg selfpublishing. It tells the story of a bridge built in visegrad that linked disparate communities from the east and west. Like almost all of andrics works, the book was originally written in serbian cyrillic. We hadnt read the book and only walked out a third of the way.
It has developed thanks to the bridge on the drina river an inspiration for the nobel laureate ivo andric for his book the bridge on the drina. The book takes you through a historical journey starting from construction plans to build the bridge and ending in the summer of 1914, when it was bombarded by the austrians after the assassination of archduke franz ferdinand by a bosnian serb student in sarajevo. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. While much is made of the contrast between the enduring stone of the bridge and the ephemeral lives of the people who lived by it. The bridge spans the river drina and links bosnia and serbia making visegrad the central transportation route from sarajevo in central bosnia with serbia to the. Mehmed pasa sokolovic bridge visegrad 2020 all you need. Bridge on the drina by ivo andric 9780226020457 paperback.
The bridge on the drina is a vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of bosnia from the late 16th century to the beginning of world war i. Dec 05, 2018 the bridge on the drina has none of that. If you havent read the bridge over the drina by ivo andric before you visit, at least make sure that you go at least to the middle of bridge and experience the kapia where so much of the novel takes place. My life took an irrevocable turn in 2001, when i visited the former yugoslavia for the first time and fell in love with the place.
Feb, 2019 the bridge on the drina is a heritage of the grand vizier mehmed pasha sokolovic in turkish sokollu mehmed pasa, 1505. The bridge on the drina is a vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of bosnia from the late 16th century to the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The bridge on the drina is, at its most surface level also on a much more profound one, just what the title says it is. The ingenious work of fiction and creativity narrates important social and political events that took place in the town during the four hundred years. This historical novel gives readers the history of. Ivo andric chronicle of three centuries of balkan life, centering around a great stone bridge in presentday yugoslavia. He is one of the greatest ottoman war generals by origin. The characters use the ijekavian dialect of serbo croatian. The bridge on the drina by the 1206th greatest fiction book. The bridge on the drina is a 1945 historical fiction novel by ivo andric, translated from serbocroat by lovett f. The bridge on the drina by ivo andric, paperback barnes. As we seek to make sense of the current nightmare in this region, this remarkable, timely book serves as a reliable guide to its people and history.
Bridge on the drina novel analysis essay my essay point. This book is the 1206th greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. The bridge over the drina andric, ivo, edwards, lovette f. It has in common with the great 19thcentury novels a huge castlist and a recognition of the fact that the destinies. The story of the bridge can be seen as a survey of bosnian history between 1516 and 1914. The bridge on the drina stresses the influence of war on the lives of ordinary people. In the small bosnian town of visegrad the stone bridge of the novels title, built in the sixteenth century on. The most recent bridge is the one at badovinci, the pavlovica cuprija. Its centrepiece is the bridge itself, a long low white brick structure constructed by the ottomans, and almost a thousand years of history washes over the bridge until the book ends with the outbreak of world war i in 1914. The bridge on the drina is the chronicle of a beautiful stone structure erected in ottoman times in visegrad, bosnia and surviving unscathed until the opening days of world war i. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. At the same time they heard the two friends slowly and softly moving away towards the marketplace. The bridge on the drina river which gives this novel its title really exists, as does the town of visegrad which grew up around the bridge after its construction. In the small bosnian town of visegrad the stone bridge of the novels title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict.