In the small Bosnian town of Visegrad the stone bridge of the novel's title, built in the sixteenth century on the instruction of a grand vezir, bears witness to three centuries of conflict. Visegrad has long been a bone of contention between the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires, but the bridge survives unscathed until 1914, when the collision of forces in the Balkans triggers the outbreak of World War I. The bridge spans generations, nationalities and creeds, silent testament to the lives played out on it. Radisav, a workman, tried to hinder its construction and is impaled alive on its highest point; beautiful Fata leaps from its parapet to escape an arranged marriage; Milan, inveterate gamble, risks all in one last game on it. With humour and compassion, Andric chronicles the lives of Catholics, Moselms and Orthodox Christians unable to reconcile their disparate loyalties.

伊沃·安德里奇(1892—1975)，前南斯拉夫文学大师，诺贝尔文学奖得主。小说家、诗人、散文家、游记作家、文学批评家。

一战时参加爱国运动而被捕入狱，惨遭流放，在此期间目睹并经历了种种苦难，获释后任职高级外交官。二战时期拒绝与法西斯合作，写下构思巧妙的史诗代表作“波斯尼亚三部曲”——《德里纳河上的桥》《萨拉热窝女人》《特拉夫尼克纪事》。

国家解放后，担任南斯拉夫作协主席，创作了多部极具特色的中短篇小说。曾获南斯拉夫作家协会奖和一级人民勋章。

1961年，因“以史诗般的气魄从你的祖囯的历史中找到了主题并且描绘了人类的命运”，成为第1位荣获诺贝尔文学奖的巴尔干地区作家。