196 Books: Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric

Geography:

Summary:
A vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of Bosnia from the late sixteenth century to the beginning of World War I, The Bridge on the Drina earned Andric the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. 

A great stone bridge built three centuries ago in the heart of the Balkans by a Grand Vezir of the Ottoman Empire dominates the setting of Ivo Andric's novel. Spanning generations, nationalities, and creeds, the bridge stands witness to the countless lives played out upon it: Radisav, the workman, who tries to hinder its construction and is impaled on its highest point; to the lovely Fata, who throws herself from its parapet to escape a loveless marriage; to Milan, the gambler, who risks everything in one last game on the bridge with the devil his opponent; to Fedun, the young soldier, who pays for a moment of spring forgetfulness with his life. War finally destroys the span, and with it the last descendant of that family to which the Grand Vezir confided the care of his pious bequest -- the bridge.


If you look closely you can even see the river Drina in the map! Here's a fun story about this country...during the last Winter Olympics I was still at my job in the Midwest and we decided to hold Office Olympics. There were only four or five teams but my boss and some colleagues chose to be team Bosnia and Herzegovina. I think I really only remember that because it was such an obscure country and it made me smile when I got to this country. 

Anyway, the book. One thing I loved was that at the very beginning they had a page with instructions on how to pronounce the accented letters. So it was nice to (maybe kind of) be able to pronounce the names in my head. Andric also did a really cool job of intertwining the stories throughout time all around this one focal point. I'll admit there were times when it got a little slow for me, but overall it was pretty good. 

Sorry this one is so short (who am I kidding, all of the ones I don't super super love are pretty short) but I have to go pack. Tomorrow we're headed for a week-long trip with Soldier's ENTIRE family. I'm sure there will be stories.