Rating: 
Summary: Shallow treatment of a complex time
Review: The lack of dimension of the characters and predictability of plot elements makes this book one of the least worthwhile examinations of people during wartime (WWII) that can be found anywhere.The sense that this book was written in hopes that it would be made into a major motion picture in inescapable. From the charming, good-hearted greek villagers to the evil nazis, there isn't a surprise in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent novel, one of the best I have ever read
Review: This is a wonderful, passionate, moving novel, certainly one of the most exciting novels I have ever read. Takes me back to my younger years when I first discovered One Hundred Years of Solititude. Kept wondering how the author would keep up the momentum and he never let me down. I am recommending this work to everyone I know. Finishing it was like saying goodbye to a very very dear friend. Fantastic, a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Rare and wonderful - just saw a cameo in "Notting Hill", too
Review: What a story. Get through the first 50 pages and then you never want it to end. I was stunned to see a cameo of the British edition of this book (with the distinctive blue-and-white cover) in "Notting Hill," too. Did you catch it? In the very last scene, Hugh Grant is reading it as Julia lies on his lap. Turns out, it's no coincidence. The same director is going to shoot the movie version of this magnificent novel. I only hope Nicolas Cage can fill Corelli's large and glorious shoes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Excellent, Excellent
Review: This book hit me like no other book has done in a long time. The one comment I have is about the ending and how appropriate it was. The ending is a greek ending that shows that life goes on, true love never dies, and that happiness is not a given. As a descnadant of the island I was amazed at how accurate he portrayed the locales and the atmosphere of the island. The book made me realize for the first time what my family really went thru during those times, from the occupation to the earthquake. I am biased but it was also one of the best books I have read.
Rating:
Summary: Moving, captivating, insightful
Review: I read the "bad ending" reviews when I was about 2/3 of the way through the book and, happily, found them to be dead wrong. The ending was the right ending at the right time in my opinion. I rank this book in the same league as Birdsong in it's portayal of the effects of war on normal people. It clearly portrays the best and worst that are in all of us and the choices made by people in war's necessarily adverse circumstances. Sadness, happiness, confusion, and clarity are all melded into this work to create an enjoyable experience.
Rating: 
Summary: An entrancing and thought provoking book about the Greeks.
Review: I was captivated by this book in so many ways. I was pleased that it did not attempt to hide or soften any of the events that are still so recent in modern Greek history....the tragic history that is often not taught in our schools and universities. Many people on this site have compalined that the ending was at first, unnecessarily cruel and then too simple. However, if you know Greece, you know that this is consistent with the rest of the book and what DeBernieres is conveying to us. To be Greek, you know that life can be unreasonably cruel and surprisingly beautiful at the same time. De Bernieres captures the suffering and lament, as well as the surreal beauty of land and people. To prepare the reader for what happens to Corelli and Pelagia, the author has already explained the powerful cultural forces that wreak havoc on most relationships between men and women in Greece. It is somewhat believable (even if I as a reader didn't like it) that Corelli was unable to reach her ealier. Women in Greece, are a complete enigma to men. Corelli may have been romantic and funny, but he was not made of " backbone" as some of the other characters were. This too, is part of the story. Who cares if some of the Greek vocabulary words were slightly mispelled...I liked the fact that he used all the languages that he did. They added to the character and flavor of the novel. This book is a great read! I was enchanted in the first 5 pages and reminded me so much of "Ellada" ( Greece ). What he says about the light is true.
Rating:
Summary: The ultimate bitter-sweet reading experience
Review: I finished this last night and I just know that I will be thinking of this book for some time to come (In fact I know that I will read it again in about a year or so). Never has a book taken me from such lighted-heartedness to such misery. Catch 22 had the characters, the humour and the sense of the riduculous but 'Mandolin' has got the love story as the added feature. You desparately want these people to live happily ever after but, through hints given as little asides throughout the book, you know that there is some tragedy waiting to happen. It is this sense of impending doom that keeps you ripping through the pages. You can't help but devour this book. When the tragedy comes, it is so much worse than anything that had been imagined, both as a result of the slow build up and the intimacy of the event that you will be disturbed. It's a book that made me love the Greeks and Italians and hate the Germans - it's just so emotive!! The feeling at the end is one of immense loss and wasted opportunities - from Pelagia's inability to realise her 'after the war' dream of being a Doctor to the years lost to Antonio and Pegalia when they should have been having a wonderful life together complete with loads of kids. Alternative endings :- 1) Antonio returns in 1946 and they live happily ever after - Too easy 2) Antonio dies before the end of the war - possible But the actual ending, while being slightly contrived, heightens the sense of lives forever fractured by the horrors of war. This is a wonderful piece of fiction rooted in history that made me want to learn more about the occupation of the Greek Islands during WWII. Totally recommended to the romantic, the strong, the brave, the humorous, war-mongers, fascists, communists, royalists, doctors and musicians!!
Rating:
Summary: Best book I must have read in many, many years!
Review: The story, true enough, unfolds very slowly. But once you get a grip on the events, about everything in the book is filled with some kind of tragic beauty. Really the book of a lifetime!
Rating:
Summary: Lovely book with a disappointing ending
Review: Though the story starts off slowly, I soon found myself engrossed with the lives of all its characters and enjoyed reading most particularly, about the relationship between Pelagia and her father. There were so many delightful and touching scenes in the book as well as more sombre, sad moments. It was then, such a rude shock to have arrived at the clumsy, last quarter of the book made worse by the undignified, hollywood-style ending. This lovely book surely did not deserve such mishandling.
Rating: 
Summary: Overwrought, overrated
Review: I feel somewhat like Elaine in the episode of Seinfeld in which she is ostracized for openly declaring that she didn't like The English Patient. Corelli's Mandolin lovers invariably point to De Bernieres' writing style and his rich characterization to justify their claim that this book provides an earth-moving experience. I beg to differ. While there are certainly admirable passages throughout the book, I found his style to be annoying overall. He uses arcane words, not because they convey his meaning most effectively or for the sake of precision (as Nabokov did so succesfully in Lolita), but rather, it would appear, to show off and impress the reader. Worse yet, the text is sprinkled with minor factual mistakes, particularly in his use of Greek terms. For example, he uses the word 'kafeneia' throughout. Granted, there is no English equivalent, but 'kafeneia' is the PLURAL form of 'kafeneion.' Also, he refers to the British guy's pronunciation of 'in taxi' for 'let's go'. In Greek, let's go is PA-may; 'endaxi' means OK. Finally, Greek is written using the Greek alphabet, not Cyrillic. Since I am not a fluent Greek speaker and I did not have the energy to look up every Greek word he tosses in, I don't know what other errors he may have made. In any event, his use of Italian and Greek terms is excessive and inconsistent (e.g. isn't there a Greek epithet for Italians he could have used rather than wop?) and it renders his prose style somewhat stilted. De Bernieres is clearly in over his head as he tries to achieve Nabokovian heights. The ridiculous ending aside, De Bernieres' efforts to create a charming, magical atmosphere tend to fall flat. Some scenes seem forced and are simply implausible. More than a few scenes led me to roll my eyes and think "Give me a break!" (e.g. when Carlo's graves opens and closes before the Captain's eyes during the earthquake. De Bernieres is no Garcia Marquez either.
| 
