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Summary: A new era
Review: This book marks the beginning of a new era in fiction. The enchanting tale of the greek isle before, during and after the great war is so absolutely skillfully told that it stole my breath away and keept my attention from the beginning to the end. The complex use of language and symbology will make your head spin. The author's great knowledge and insight will make you see the world in a new light I can assure. I can only give this book my most warm and sincere recommandations. May it fill you with delight and wonder as it did me.
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Summary: Engaging, Entertaining, Detailed
Review: Many readers love this book, which is probably the true test of success. However, I found the telling of this complex and potentially touching story to be partially short circuited by the author's love of excess. Many of the characters are drawn with the depth of a cardboard cutout. Some scenes are pure melodrama, the prose purple enough to make devoted ramance fans cringe. I also suspect that De Bernieres was being paid by the word, which is the only reason I can see for some chapters being included in the finished book since they have no bearing on the trajectory of the story. The writing at times suffers from a perfunctory ordinariness, as if the author wasn't engaged with his subject but plowed forward just the same because he had a deadline to meet. That said, there are some truly fascinating details here, and the evocation of wartime Greece is nothing less than astounding. This ambitious book is Dickensian in its scope and encyclopaedic in its cast of characters. If as a reader you are not too demanding and enjoy a good romp, then I believe you will enjoy this book.
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Summary: Read It read it read it!
Review: This is an absolute must for anybody who loves being transported to another time and place whilst reading. the description is so vivid and real that you knnow the characters, the place, the time and the feelings of those involved in this delightful novel. It's gonna make you laugh out loud, screw your face up in disgust, bawl tears of sadness and joy and generally not let you put it down. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough, it is my mission in life to make sure every single person I know reads it, as it's truly a masterpiece. His other books are all very similiar in emotions and descriptions so become a louis addict like me. Oh yes and Mr de Bernieres That'll be 10 bucks, thanks.
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Summary: Corelli's Mandolin- I can still hear it playing in my ears!
Review: It wasn't because it was raining, it wasn't that I had nothing else to do, it wasn't because I had just split up with a boyfriend, my TV was working, and yet I sat in for the whole of this weekend in absolute emotional turmoil. All because of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. The book takes you through the bumpy ride of a small island's history. Together with the characters we go through war from all angles, occupation, earthquakes and most traumatically losing loved ones. Depressing as that may sound to some of you, Bernières is one of only a handful of authors who has the gifted touch of making his readers laugh out loud. I often found myself having to read through tear filled eyes, only to be laughing at the same time because Bernières has seen fit to enhance heart rendering stories with some true life observations (I couldn't possibly give an example as it might spoil the book- just trust me, it's funny). It is a book that deals with every type of love; between man and country, father and daughter, man and woman, pine marten and mice. It is so easy to identify with that I'm sure I was blushing, as if he had read my thoughts. It truely is a compelling read, so full of little gems that you might want to keep pen and paper to hand, as well as some tissues for the snivelly bits. The structure of the book is such that it may take a little while to get used to ( lots of characters take a chapter each and we eavesdrop in on their mind workings.). But after a short while it comes together and as a reader I feel we are left with the perfect situation- no, one omniscient narrator, yet the ability to see the entire picture. It's a fabulous read. Make sure you've got nothing planned for the weekend!
Rating: 
Summary: Believe the hype!
Review: If you are the type of person who gets bored quickly, I would not recommend this book, as the first quarter of the novel consists mainly of historical scene-setting, which seems slightly tedious. This aside, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" is a very moving and exciting book.
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Summary: A March for Pelagia
Review: Corelli's Mandolin is a wonderful, readable book. The language is rich and funny, and the characters are memorable.I was a bit put off with the last few chapters and ending, but, then again, I have been thinking about it almost constantly since finishing, SO, perhaps the author achieved what he wanted. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Favorite book EVER
Review: Corelli's Mandolin is one of the most beautifully written stories of all time. It features characters that not only come to life, but who teach powerful lessons about humanity and being a part of the human race first, even if it means rejecting your own nationalism. My only advice upon reading it is to not get discouraged by the first 100 pages when you think that you have no idea what is going on. Corelli gets introduced after the first 100 pages and he is a character you will never forget. This book will make you laugh, cry and smile and hope.
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Summary: A Modern Greek Myth
Review: "Corelli's Mandolin" is part Shakespearean comedy and part modern-Greek Myth. The simple people in this novel become mythic as the story coalesces and moves along, mixing comedy, love, heroism, and tragedy. The novel is a beautiful romance whose ending will annoy or frustrate most simple-minded romantics; however, the ending is consistent within the construct of the Greek myth of Odysseus that de Berniere unfolds for Corelli. The "Odyssey" is played out by more than one character in the book; in one case, the odyssey ends with the recovery of a soul, in another, the culmination of a grand romance. Pelagia is Penelope; she weaves a bedspread...waiting. These are just the obvious allusions to Greek mythology; more await the discerning reader. The novel is rich in wit and wisdom. This novel strikes me as deeply personal book by de Berniere; his characters seek and wrestle with unsettling truths. Not since Roberto Calasso's "Marriage of Cadmus & Harmony" have I come across such an engaging story. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to begin anew (what higher praise can one give?), ...but my spouse had dibs for the next reading. Perhaps she'll read it aloud to me. Nicolas Cage as Corelli? I am concerned - my choice is Joseph Fiennes as Corelli and Cage as Carlo.
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Summary: What a novel should be
Review: This proved to be a thoroughly engrossing, highly entertaining, and often quite moving book. It is a novel in the old-fashioned sense, not a quick read - and the characters will stay in the reader's mind for a long time. The ending was a bit of a let-down only in that the two characters involved didn't act in character. One of the best books I've read all year.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, bad ending
Review: This was the first recommendation from my sister-in-law and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would have been 5 stars but the end is pretty unimaginative and tired (ghost writer /publisher re-write?) However, that won't stop me from reading another book by de Bernieres.
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