"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: to Radisav, the workman, who tries to hinder its construction and is impaled alive on its highest point; to the lovely Fata, who throws herself from its parapet to escape a...