Rating: 
Summary: Just a good read
Review: This was a very impressive book. I'm not sure about the historical accuracy of it, but I do intend to check. de Bernieres creates memorable characters in this novel about the Italian occupation of a small Greek island during WWII. If you have been reading mediocre pop fiction lately and want something that's a little more rich, but not impossibly difficult, this is probably your top pick. I read it while travelling through Italy, and it was neat to compare some of the cultural and historical stuff in the novel to the things I was experiencing. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Not My Typical Read
Review: At a certain point one begins to wonder what makes a book popular. I mean, normally the prospect of a love story throws me off - not that romance does not have a place in novels and can be a central role if it is done well. More when I think of romance I think of some garish book with Fabio on its cover.Captain Corelli's Mandolin is different from one of those. As the review in Amazon says, it is a story on many levels. The first and most basic is a story of the human experience. Although there are very many different characters and viewpoints (who are initially hard to seperate) this novel discovers its flow about a third of the way in, and takes you on a literary journey which is a perfect pace. The best part of this novel, without a doubt are the characters. All of them are expounded upon, there are no complete heroes, no complete villains, just a lot of humans, a difficult thing to do in the context of the second World War. I highly recommend this novel, especially to those discouraged because it is a romance. It is and it isn't. Just go out and read it.
Rating:
Summary: An incredibly well-written novel
Review: This is one of the best-written novels I have ever read. The author has an incredible talent. It is a deeply moving historical novel, which is accurately described as covering "all of the grand topics of literature": love and death, heroism and skull-duggery, humor and pathos, not to mention art and religion". A great novel even for those who typically do not read fiction!
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Summary: vividly written and haunting story
Review: A beautiful novel. I was touched by the desperation of their situation and the compulsion of the characters to do the right thing at the expense of their personal happiness. It's not a "chick novel", but I wept because of the uncontrollable tragedy that they endured.
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Summary: A Greek Tragedy - Yet The Stuff Of Dreams
Review: Indeed this is a story that touches the air within elusive, quiet Paradise here on earth. Such a place - ah - and such a feeling - may only be reveled within the wisp of a moment, if even, if ever, at all! Yet every tale imposes upon its own space of time and place, or otherwise - but always somewhere, sometime...its ideal. Oh I get so beyond myself! I forever digress... This is a magnificent novel, taking place within "the half-forgotten island of Cephallonia, " which, "rises improvidently and inadvisably from the Ionian Sea; it is an island so immense in antiquity that the very rocks themselves exhale nostalgia and the red earth lies stupefied not only by the sun, but by the impossible weight of memory." So writes Dr. Iannis, a character who so fascinates me that I am compelled to believe that I once was him - or someone very like him - in a previous life. Yet I may be sorely mistaken: I could just as well have been someone very like his daughter, Pelagia! I cannot help but say that every one of the characters in this heart-breaking, beautiful story comes forth emboldened with a multi-prismed soul. I cannot help but say that every word read herein is beautiful music to a reader's searching eye. I cannot help but say that this novel, in its lovely singularity, has quenched my thirst - if only for a while ~~ WWII is the theatre of this tale: An isolated Greek island - inhabited by the gods of times gone by, its breezes entwined within an aura of ancient memories & tradition - with a peaceful, bright, and humble manner of living coursing through the blood of its inhabitants. Therein lies a timeless and deeply manifested manner of existence. This may be a small, insignificant tale if you consider the overwhelmingly tragic effect upon the courses of countries, masses of individuals, even the history of humanity that this war, or any war, has imposed. But when the Italians invade and occupy Cephallonia, the quiet dwellers therein are thrown into the tumultuous forward pull of the history of the world. They come to learn the hard way that to defend oneself against the enemy - or sometimes even to identify the enemy itself - requires immense physical, emotional, and intellectual stamina. For some of them, this proves horrifically impossible and beyond all ordinary comprehension. Somehow, almost magically, De Bernieres embraces the vast scope of this momentous period of time - and communicates its effects upon the history of humanity with a striking brilliance rarely seen in modern writing! The many wonderful characters of this beautifully written novel have won over even my own sluggish heart - which flies whimsically overhead now in dreams, hoping to claim therein my very own piece of earth upon the shores of those endless, ancient tides ~
Rating:
Summary: Don't Look Back
Review: Dr. Iannis lives on the Greek isle of Cephallonia with his daughter, Pelagia. Iannis is a self-taught man who has never lost his desire for learning. In turn, Pelagia also picks up things from her father, and seems to be the most highly educated woman on the island. The death of Pelagia's mother at an early age has also added to her unconventional childhood. Pelagia falls in love with Mandras, a local fisherman. Mandras has an excellent physique, which Pelagia likens to a male nymph, as she secretly observes him swimming naked in the sea with his dolphin companions. Unfortunately, Benito Mussolini has decided to invade Greece without telling anybody (including his own generals). Bernieres allows Mussolini to take centre stage with a cameo appearance. This passage is a piece of quite excellent comic wit: only Mussolini's own speeches are more humourous, in an unknowing and grotesque way. Carlo is a young Italian soldier fighting in Mussolini's Balkans campaign, where "friendly fire" from other parts of the Italian forces, persistent attacks by Greek guerrillas, and most of all, the perishing cold in the mountains threatens their lives. Any team spirit has already been ruined for Carlo by the fact that he and the fellow soldier he admires, have been sent on a suicide mission in some bizarre attempt to justify the war. Meanwhile, Mandras continues to woo Pelagia. Unfortunately, it becomes clear to both lovers that theirs' would be an unconventional match. Dr. Iannis, for one thing, refuses to garnish Pelagia with a dowry. Mandras is acutely aware that his illiteracy and poor education prevents him from communicating with Pelagia on the same level. Mandras decides that the best thing to do would be to ask for Pelagia's hand in marriage, and then make a man of himself by fighting against the Italians. Dr. Iannis meanwhile battles with his history of Cephallonia and omnivorous goats, whilst watering the herbs in the garden in his own particular way. With the Italians nearly defeated, Mussolini decides to call on the help of Hitler. The only consequence can be that Dr. Iannis will be forced to add yet more names to the invaders of Cephallonia. When they finally do arrive, it is a certain Captain Corelli who is billeted at Dr. Iannis's house. Whilst Pelagia struggles to complete her bed sheet for Mandras, Corelli keeps catching her eye. It helps that he's an expert musician: soon the Cephallonian nights are filled with the harmonious songs of the mandolin. Running throughout the novel is a Homeric theme. Cephalus, after whom the island was named, was a forebear of Odysseus (with some dispute over whether Odysseus's home was the nearby isle of Ithaca or Cephallonia). Certainly the wanderings of Mandras in his first flight from home resemble the voyages of Odysseus. He's even seduced by an old hag called Circe in a poetic narration that seems to be a little bit too literary to have come from such an illiterate man, but we can forgive Bernieres for writing too well. It is very possible that Mandras could have had such a literary education even if he cannot read: no doubt his dreams are inspired by half forgotten tales from Cephallonia's oral culture. Mandras even has a Penelope waiting for him in the form of Pelagia, and Mandras's boss in ELAS takes the pseudonym of 'Hector' from Homer. But Bernieres is never completely true to the fabled myths, for he has own torturous trail to weave. Father Arsenios is a joy to behold as he turns from being a drunk and the worst priest Cephallonia has ever had, into a prophet who startles the occupying forces by quoting the psalms at them. Even if you think you know your history, the events on Cephallonia will still come as a big shock to you too. When I first read Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I was quite critical of the ending and the character of the 'good Nazi', Gunter Weber. Gunter doesn't irritate at all on the second reading, and I think that David Morrissey is an excellent choice of actor to play him in the film. Where the novel has come most under fire, however, is in Bernieres' portrayal of the andartes, and the Communist ELAS in particular. Bernieres' bias against them seems to have descended all the way down from SOE's Brigadier Myers and Winston Churchill. It's very hard to find any documents written in English that depict ELAS in a favourable light. No doubt they were guilty of committing atrocities, and weren't exactly cooperative with the British, but they did play a far more positive role in the war than Bernieres allows. This seems to be indicative of a slight, reactionary streak in Bernieres' work. As Corelli asks himself, would he have had the courage to disobey a direct order that would have involved committing an atrocity? But Mandras is not only based on Odysseus. Pelagia, after all, is not a wife like Penelope, and she has only one other suitor. It's here that Mandras seems to take on the role of Aristaeus returning home from the war... Earlier in the novel, Corelli asks Gunter Weber whether he's related to the famous composer of the same name. He's slightly disappointed that Weber has never heard of Arcangelo Corelli, his own famous musical namesake. Now, going back as far as 1682 and Georg Muffat, Corelli has been referred to as the "Orpheus of the Violin". I was very excited when I discovered this, since the resolution of the novel has only ever made satisfactory sense to me when mindful of the tale of Orpheus. Having investigated this myth further, I'm convinced that this is why Bernieres chose 'Corelli' as the name of his hero. The way Bernieres twists and deviates myth is the best indication of the intricate way in which his mind works. Such is his genius, that Corelli and Pelagia have become archetypal lovers, just like Orpheus and Eurydice before them.
Rating: 
Summary: Corelli's mandolin Or an anti-communist manifesto
Review: It is a fact that we are dealing with a very well shaped book and story , with realistic characters and a good plot. Although, as a greek citizen i do have to mention that the references of the writer to the greek civil war are not at all objective, as he describes those who took part in it with the communist fragment as sily and narrow minded folks, who didn;t know anything about the reason they were fughting for. Even though i liked the book, this part made me feel a little bit angry, because insted of the truth (which is that no fragment - the communist or the anticommunist- was in fact right) De Bernieres presents to the reader his own opinion as reality
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Summary: How to Write a Novel
Review: Louis de Bernieres is a great novelist. He does with Corelli's Mandolin what every novelist tries to do, or at least should try to do, namely to evoke an elevating change in the reader. We have all had the experience of finishing a book and not wanting to let go of the characters or the places. We want to hold onto them, to visit with them, to taste once again the aroma of their lives, the texture of their voices, the sounds of the world in which they live. I can't think when this complex state of mind ever tugged at me as hard as when I closed the pages of Berniers' book. The characters are the three dimensional figures about which E. M. Forster wrote in Aspects of the Novel. As you meet them on the two-dimensional page you can almost walk around them, so deeply and humanly are they portrayed. And the backdrop consists of the the darkening shadow of the Nazi transformation of Europe as it descends on Aegean civilization and trashes the innocence of its people. So character and culture collide with a combination of gravity and levity that is simply impossible to put into words. I resist saying anything of the details of this work for fear that it will tarnish the experience of the book. Its most wonderful feature is that it evokes deep emotions in the reader (at least in me) and elevates the spirit as a result. One is changed through reading it, in a rich way, somewhat the way a Greek tragedy may embrace the audience and raise it to a new level. I am moved to say that if you have only one book to read this next year, read this one.
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Summary: Very detailed, and opinioned, view of Greece
Review: Rarely does a novel dive into rich detail the lives of the oppressed during World War 2. The author accurately portrays the mannerisms of everyday island life in Kephallonia during the occupation, first by Italians, Nazis, and lastly the Greek Communists, who were finally defeated in 1948. The story is an integrate fictionaly story with facts. I have to admit, that after travelling to Greece many times, that the Greek characters in the novel are very "real." The author also writes chapters on the War's progress and occasionally voices his own opinions on the situation (such as the brutality of Greek Communist forces during the entire time). The story itself is very gripping. The last 100 pages were read with heart pounding, and I even started reading during work just to see what is in store for the characters. Putting it down only makes me want to continue reading until the end. I don't know what will happen when I reach the last page!!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book, pulls you with its energy
Review: I found this book to be incredible... the level of detail is wonderful, without being tedious. This is definitely one of my favorite books, though I am still pondering over the ending (just finished reading it). Although the book does have a romnatic part to it, I would not say it is a romantic war novel. That would be too limiting in its description. The book, set on a Greek island, deals with human relationships in all levels (father-daughter, occupied-occupier, soldier-victim, intellectual-naiive) etc. It is through the interactions of these relationships that this novel is timeless. A very good read... highly recommended.
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