Last Updated on May 6, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 97

In describing life in Bosnia, Ivo Andri transcends the real and the obvious and elevates the question of the meaning of human existence to the level of universality. Life as depicted by Andri may be hard, bleak, and tortuous, but it is not Søren Kierkegaard’s “sickness unto death.” One of the main messages from The Bridge on the Drina confirms Andri’s basic faith in the inviolability of life: “Life is an incomprehensible miracle because it is constantly being consumed and eroded and yet it lasts and stands firmly like the bridge on the Drina.”