The Bridge On the Drina: Difference between revisions

[[File:vijest-2561_4995.jpg|frame|"So people learned from the angels of God how to build bridges, and therefore, after fountains, the greatest blessing is to build a bridge and the greatest sin to interfere with one, for every bridge, from a tree trunk crossing a mountain stream to this great bridge of Mehmed Pasha, has its guardian angel who cares for it and maintains it as long as God has ordained that it should stand."]]

 

 

In November 1516, an [[The Empire|Ottoman]] expedition was passing through the backwater Bosnian town of Višegrad, collecting, to the horror of the local Serbian families, the feared ‘’Devshirme’’, or ‘’Tribute in Blood’’. [[Tyke Bomb|Exceptionally able and intelligent Christian prepubescent boys]] were taken away to Istanbul in order to be trained as Janissaries, the elite corps of the Ottoman army, dedicated to serve the Sultan until death. One of those boys, [[Child Prodigy|the ten year old Bajo]], quickly managed to rise through the ranks of the Ottoman Empire, ultimately becoming the famed Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Sokolović, the most powerful man in the Empire after the Sultan himself. Unlike most other Janissaries, the [[Training from Hell]] didn’t manage to erase the memories of his childhood home and, in order to repay his roots, he orders a bridge to be built over the wild river of Drina, connecting Bosnia to Serbia and the rest of Ottoman territories, that would be the envy of the whole empire.

An implicit critic of Balkan nationalism, this novel is considered a must-read for anyone who wishes to truly understand the conflicts still going on in this troubled region.

 

* [[All Jews Are Cheapskates]]: Subverted with Lotte the hotel manager. She is really stingy and careful with the money, but it is revealed that she actually uses it to help her relatives all around Europe.

* [[Arc Symbol]]: The bridge.