Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić

Blurb from Goodreads

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 Ivo 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 Andric’s stunning 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.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Technically, it is already Tuesday. Nevertheless, I hope you all had a restful weekend in preparation for the work week ahead. I hope you were able to recuperate and rejuvenate your manna. I know. Nearly everyone have a covert – or maybe overt – loathing for Mondays. I am no exception. Viewed from a different perspective, I see Mondays as windows of opportunity to recalibrate and start afresh. It is a chance to work on our goals although starting is often the most difficult part in any endeavor. After a couple of rainy weeks, the stifling Manila heat is back. I just hope everyone is starting or has started the workweek on a high note. I hope everyone makes it through – or survives – the workweek. I hope that the weekend equipped everyone for the tedious week ahead.

Time does fly fast. Just like that, we are already halfway through the eighth month of the year. Time is taking its natural course although it still feels like nothing of consequence has happened. Well, I guess I should be thankful. Regardless, I hope that the notorious ghost month is going well for everyone. I hope that August will be a good month for everyone and that 2025 is treating everyone gently, and with kindness. I hope that as 2025 moves forward, everyone is showered with blessings, positivity, healing, and growth. I hope good news and kindness will come knocking on everyone’s doors in the coming months. I wish success and blessings for everyone. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit.

In August, I continued my venture into the works of European literature. While going through my reading challenges – I am lagging behind in most of them – I realized that several of the books I listed in them are part of my reading goals and challenges. As such, this foray into European literature is timely as I am starting to fear that I might not be able to complete these reading challenges. I am currently reading Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate, just the fifteenth book from my 2025 Top 25 Reading List I read. Anyway, since I have been immersing myself in the works of European literature, I have also been featuring works of European writers in my weekly Goodreads Monday update. This week, I am featuring the work of another Nobel Laureate in Literature, Ivo Andrić’s The Bridge on the Drina; last week, I featured Sigrid Undset’s Kristin Lavransdatter.

Like in the case of the Norwegian novelist, my interest in the 1961 Nobel Laureate in Literature has been piqued my must-read lists. I also admit that had it not been for the Nobel Prize, I would have not encountered either writer. Ivo Andrić is the only Yugoslavian writer to earn the distinction. I just learned that he was up against esteemed writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck, and E.M. Forster. Steinbeck would be recognized by the Swedish Academy a year after Andrić’s recognition. Interestingly, The Bridge on the Drina and Kristin Lavransdatter share several similarities. They are both the first books in trilogies and are works of historical fiction. They are also considered among these writer’s most notable works. Further, I am drawn toward the fact that The Bridge on the Drina deals with Bosnia (it was where Andrić was born).

I can’t say I have read that many book set in this Balkan country. Reading the book would then be an opportunity to expand my exploration not only of Bosnian/Yugoslav literature but also of Balkan literature. Acquiring a copy of the book, however, poses a problem because such works are difficult to acquire here in the Philippines. Still, I am enthusiastic about my chances of reading the book (and the entire trilogy). How about you, fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!