Rating: 
Summary: A great historical and romantic novel
Review: This book is such a vivid portrait of Greece and the changes it went through over a period of about 40 years. It is a startlingly realistic and honest approach to the trauma and confused emotions that the people of Greece experienced in World War II. You experience life in that time through a small group of characters whose fates intermingle in a surprising way. An absolutely amazing book-- an essential for philhellines like myself, and those interested in WWII Europe. It has a personal touch, and you fall in love with the characters and struggle with them through their difficulties. It was so wonderful, I hated to see it end.
Rating:
Summary: An author I will read again
Review: The story, the language, the characters, are so rich and real, that this book has stayed with me long after I read the last pages. De Berneires has such a poignant and loving feeling for human kind, and so successfully illustrates what it is to live in a world that is both terrible and joyful. The horrors of war, and the absolute numbness that results from it's destruction, are mingled with the bliss and passion of living so thoroughly, that the true nature of such a fragile existance is at once clear and familiar to the reader. I fell in love with the characters and laughed aloud with them, and felt their extreme sorrow with every corner turned in their lives. This is the first of De Bernieres' books I have read, and I will be glad to read more of them from what I have experienced reading this book.
Rating: 
Summary: So shoot me down...
Review: I have never read Captain Corelli's Mandolin. This is because I am a literary snob. While some people may think I am biting off my nose to spite my face by refusing to read this novel, I don't think so. There are thousands of different novels which, I'm sure, are more worth reading then Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Novels by Tolstoy, Eliot, Dostoevsky, Balzac, Proust, Hesse, Joyce, Lawrence, Kundera, Fowles et al. Most people will never get near them for two reasons: a) they are not fashionable. b) people are too intellectually apathetic to invest time and effort into something which is not immediately rewarding. What I object to is not Louis De Bernieres himself but the people who hold him up as some sort of literary messiah. What I say to these people is: go and read something by the authors I have just mentioned and then you can judge whether or not Captain Corelli's Mandolin is really "great" literature. Here is a patronising maxim: you get out of novels, like everything in life, what you put in to them (i.e. often the most "difficult" novels, ones which require intellectual effort, are the most rewarding). For those of you who are well-read, I apologise. You must think I'm an arrogant, patronising elitist.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most memorable books I've read
Review: On the island, I have heard that Louis desBernieres only actually spent a few days here doing research. I found this so hard to believe.Through his words and the pictures he paints in the mind, you are transported to this most wonderful place. I felt Mandras' and Corelli's pain as they endured horrific events as the war unfolds. I dislike war novels of any kind, but this work brings the human element into play in a way that it would be as though your brother or a friend were at war -- you would hang on every word for information. The love story is brilliant -- until the very end. The ending is too quickly "tacked on" and detracts significantly from the excellent quality of the writing. It is also one of those "too good to be true" endings. However, put this aside and create your own ending, because the rest of the work -- the language, the plot, characterizations, are so masterfully crafted that my disappointment at the ending was tempered by the memories of these great characters. Louis desBernieres created a moving, wonderful book out of an obscure topic with regard to WWII, very few people out there are aware of the war atrocities committed in Greece. I am most worried that once the film is released, that our family's island paradise will be inundated with tourists! Cephallonia is truly one of the most unusually different, most hauntingly beautiful and least visited Greek islands. I would love it if it were always so, but it is inevitable that because of this book, there will be a great interest garnered in visiting. If you do manage to make it over here, enjoy -- but respect the islanders and the environment, please (especially the beaches, which are unparalleled in Greece)!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: The story lines were absolutely brilliant. The flirting between Pelagia and Antonio were well written and I had to re-read a paragraph sometimes, just to let the ful effect of the words hit me. In my opinion, without a doubt, Carlos was the most moving character. His pure and simple love for Antonio proved that love makes all things possible. I didn't not like the reaction of Antonio when he learnt the truth about Carlos but, no matter when I liked or didn't like, everything when happened in the novel was true to life. They were reactions that even though you don't agree with them, are a part of human nature. That it what this novel represented; love, laughter and honest of human emotions and feelings. It touches both heart and soul, a beautiful read.
Rating:
Summary: What a novel should be.
Review: A very good novel, full of deep, rich characters, a sweeping story, and simply full of life. The author has tremendous command of the English language. It was a pleasure to read. I tempted to read very few novels again. Could not recommend it more.
Rating: 
Summary: sweeping saga
Review: This is a sophisticated, intellectual, historical and highly emotional love story. Bernieres has demonstrated an astounding vocabulary along with a complex, sophisticated and intellectually astute style. The novel takes a little while to get off the ground but don't let this disappoint you! Corelli's Mandolin provides a wonderful history lesson re: WW2 and the relationship that existed between Italy and Greece. This is not a "light" read but it is certainly very rewarding.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Magic
Review: This novel reminded me of Catch-22, the English Patient and the Milagro Beanfield War. Although the author loses the thread of the story somewhat in the epilogue, he manages to use the metaphor of unrequited love to transport the reader to a place which could never exist, but ought to.
Rating:
Summary: A delicious read!
Review: What a wonderful way to start the new year...with this magnificent story. Set on the Greek island of Cephallonia, the reader is thrust into the 'literally' lush, emotionally rich, sharply humorous, painfully tragic story of the beautiful Pelagia. This spirited young woman lives with her father, the village physician and self-appointed historian. This is the tale of the small town on Cephallonia, Pelagia's life, her two great loves (one a beautiful young Greek fisherman whom the war ravages, and the other a somewhat shy, sweet Italian army captain who plays Antonia, his mandolin), and the Second World War in the Balkans (which include Greece). I loved this book and will blatantly quote the Washington Post, "(It) brims with all the grand topics of literature - love and death, heroism and skullduggery, humor and pathos, not to mention art and religion. A good old-fashioned novel." This is a wonderful curl-up-in-bed-for-a-few-hours-and-be-transported novel.
Rating:
Summary: Succulent
Review: I chose this book for embarrassing romantic reasons, and was trapped in it like a fly stuck in honey. Its rich language attracted and captivated me, and I wished that it was about two hundred pages longer. The end seemed a bit rushed, but that could have been my own perception, given my desire for it to stretch on. The very end didn't seem to give me the "happily ever after" wrap-up that I've become used to, but that was part of its charm, and part of the reason I feel confident that this will be considered a classic.
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