Blurb: Met dit boek, dat nu reeds in 18 landen verschenen is, komt de Nederlandse lezer een van de grootste romans uit de naoorlogse wereldlitteratuur onder ogen. De brug over de Drina, op de grens tussen Bosnië en Servië, verbindt het Morgen- met het Avondland, de christelijke met de mohammedaanse wereld. Gebouwd in de zestiende eeuw overleeft de stenen brug, die een kruispunt van rassen, godsdiensten en beschavingen is, de wisseling der tijden. Zij is getuige van het grote conflict tussen Oost en West, aanschouwt de terugtocht van de Turken en het opdringen van het Oostenrijks-Hongaarse rijk en beleeft het ontwaken van het Servische volk. In 1914 wordt de brug door de Serviërs beschoten en door de Oostenrijkers vernield. Heel de bewogen, dramatische geschiedenis van de brug en daarmee van de zuidoostelijke hoek van Europa is in dit ruige epos uitgebeeld door Ivo Andric, die vooral naar aanleiding van dit boek bekroond is met de Nobelprijs voor litteratuur. "Het is een groot boek geworden, omdat Andric, als een groot schrijver, de taal der grote symbolen verstaat. Terwijl de geslachten komen en gaan, vier eeuwen lang, met hun moeite en verdriet, rijkdom en razernij, hun alledagsbestaan en hun verborgen passies, blijf op de achtergrond van al die honderden levens, waarvan hij telkens een verrassende en doorgaans dramatische wending tekent, de glanzende brug over de Drina liggen... Ivo Andric is een schrijver die met een rustige, ironische glimlach niet in uren, maar in eeuwen denkt. Dat verleent aan deze roman een waarlijk klassieke allure.' A. den Doolaard.
Samenv.: Het leven in het Bosnische stadje Visegrad van de Turkse overheersing in de 16e eeuw tot de Oostenrijkse inval in 1914.
Samenv.: De beroemde roman van de Servische schrijver Ivo Andriç (1892-1975) waarmee hij de Nobelprijs won. Het boek weerspiegelt de geschiedenis van Bosnië, weergegeven in de gebeurtenissen rond de stad Visegrad en de brug over de Drina vanaf begin 16de eeuw tot 1914. De brug symboliseert de wens en het streven van de mens om onsterfelijkheid te bereiken, om heden en verleden te verbinden. De vastheid van de witte steen staat voor dat wat de verschillen tussen de nationaliteiten en de religies overbrugt. Uiteindelijk wordt dit symbool van onsterfelijkheid vernield door de Oostenrijkers. Geschreven in de tijd van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, is het een ode aan het oude Bosnië waarin verschillende rassen en religies vredig met elkaar woonden. Deze roman is nu weer actueel na de vernietigende oorlog in voormalig Joegoslavië.

Le pont est le personnage principal, tous les autres tournant autour. Le procédé est utile quelque temps, mais s’use à la longue. Quelques passages inoubliables (l’empalement, la fiancée récalcitrante, etc.) ( )

Typical of the region, the novel takes a long, long time before the action starts. Only after 300 pages does the main narrative begin. The first 300 pages are filled with vignettes and preludes that only acquire meaning after the completion of the book. Everything is connected and just this closeness of different attitudes, peoples and cultures results in an inordinate amount of brutality and suffering in an otherwise backward location. Progress, technology and war comes to Visegrad from far away countries whose representatives change, dig and smash, while life goes on for the population.

In its last 100 pages,a poignant anti-war novel emerges. a fitting companion to All Quiet on the Western Front where the war, destruction and turmoil is all about civilians caught in situations beyond their control and understanding. ( )

Handlingen i boka er lagt til byen Visjegrad i Bosnia, og starter med byggingen av brua over elva Drina på slutten av 1500-tallet, på den tiden Balkan var underlagt det ottomanske riket. Broen var en gave fra den tyskiske vesiren, men ble til gjennom tvangsarbeid for beboerne i den lille landsbyen. Straffen for manglende adlydelse av vesirens ordre var meget brutal.

Det tok fire-fem år å bygge brua, og da den sto ferdig fulgte en eventyrlig vekst i handelen i området. Kristne, muslimer og jøder levde i relativ fredelig sameksistens, side om side, i mange hundre år, og landsbyen vokste og ble til en by. Livet rundt brua skildres gjennom disse årene og frem til utbruddet av første verdenskrig, som kom etter skuddene i Sarajevo. På den tiden lå Bosnia under keiserdømmet Østerike-Ungarn.

Historiene som fortelles i boka er basert på virkelige hendelser, og det er de mest fantastiske historier som fortelles om store og små hendelser i Visjegrad, byen ved brua over Drina. Etter hvert økte motsetningene mellom de ulike trosretningene, hvilket medførte at de i krisetider ikke lenger sto sammen slik de tidligere alltid hadde gjort. Sånn sett danner boka grunnlag for bedre å forstå de etniske motsetningene som til slutt kuliminerte i krigen i det tidligere Jugoslavia på 1990-tallet.

De litterære kvalitetene i boka beveger seg på et meget høyt nivå, og forfatteren fikk også Nobels litteraturpris for den i 1961. Selv om boka mer er en slags historiebok enn et skjønnlitterært verk i tradisjonell forstand, opplevde jeg et sjeldent driv over den. Jeg måtte bare lese videre og klarte knapt å legge den fra meg. Det er veldig synd at denne boka ikke er å få kjøpt akkurat nå, men jeg er veldig sikker på at den vil bli utgitt igjen og igjen! ( )

This is the tale of a bridge, and much more. It is the story of a small town on the Bosnian border; its life under the Ottomans and later, the Austrians; the joys, the hardships, the pains of the people of the town of Visegrad whose fates depended on the whims and decrees imposed by the far-off capital city of whoever was the imperial ruler then; the reverberations of revolts and wars that were being fought across the border or further inland; and a bridge who was witness to it all.

Spanning a canvas of more than 300 years, Andrić brings to life in the most beautiful and vivid way, rural and town life in Visegrad which was first just a little sleepy border place along the river Drina made up of Turks, Jews, and Serbs who, though they harbored deep suspicion of each other, have learned how to live, and even like each other, albeit depended on each other for their mutual survival.

First, there was no bridge. Then sometime in the 16th century, the great Mehmet Pasha, whose origins were from that region, instructed the construction of a great bridge. And life started to revolve around that bridge. As well as death, for along the centuries, it became the symbol and the stage where the power, repression and aggression of the ruling power were displayed in the most savage form both as reminder and punishment.

Andrić writes a fictional but truthful history of the bridge at Visegrad. We meet a host of memorable characters and experience unforgettable events. There are the peasants, the townsmen, the merchants, the priests; then came the workers, the builders of the bridge; then the soldiers and new settlers from far-off lands of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who administered the town's transformation in the “Western” way; then there were the intellectuals, the students, and the revolutionaries. Between these waves which took place over many generations, we feel as if the town is always at the edge of something that is not within them to control. Change came, most of the time not subtly and not from any internal source, and here we see how tensions developed, grew, and sometimes, exploded. And those who could not accept change simply faded away for there was no room for these misfits in the new social order. This is just a small part of a much bigger story, but we begin to have a glimpse of some of the historical sources of the volatility of a region located at the crossroads of East and West, and which served as a pawn by much greater powers in their games of political domination. Through all these waves and changes, there stood the bridge - the only constant, permanent thing in their lives. It was solid, it was immense, it was indestructible. But was it really?

This book is a truly a masterpiece. I was swept away by the writing from the very first page, and didn't want the tale to end. But it had to end, and it was not a very happy ending, even as we know that until now what is there is a fragile peace, and deep scarring from a bloody recent past. ( )