Although this story by Ivo Andrić describes the building of a famous Bosnian bridge, it is more about the two men responsible for its construction: a Grand Vizier who had recently emerged victorious from banishment and commissioned it as a tribute to his birthplace, and the meticulous master builder who completed it. Although the Grand Vizier was one of the most powerful men in the Ottoman Empire, the banishment experience had left him so insecure and isolated that he suffered delusions and decision-making paralysis. Themes include dedication, creative anxiety, political intrigue, isolation, fear, the transience of life and happiness. More…

The major theme of this story by Ivo Andrić is man’s inhumanity to man. Set in a remote Bosnian village shortly after Austrian annexation, gendarmes capture a rebel leader with a festering chest wound. He is thrown in a cell without treatment and denied water until he names his co-conspirators. As the gendarme commander sleeps soundly, his young wife listens to the man’s screams and pleas for water throughout the night. When she finally falls asleep, her husband wakes and forces himself on her. Other themes include justice, duty, betrayal, brutality, isolation and loneliness, despair, sexuality. More…