Corelli's Mandolin

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Summary: Your life will change forever after reading this book.
Review: The profound language of this book is so deeply moving that it will never be forgotten. The joy one feels at the end is tempered by the fact that it really will be 'a hard act to follow'. The very act of writing this review is enough to cause an excitement within ones soul at the memories it invokes. Buy it, read it, recommend it to your friends . Don't lend them your copy , it will disappear into their hearts forever.

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Summary: Interesting and infuriating...
Review: Beautifully written in places, but flawed. Am I the only person to find the explanation for Corelli's 40 year disappearing act ludicrous? Apart from that there are some eloquent passages on love, death and war.

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Summary: Exquisitely written
Review: Humorous and poignant, this novel transports you to a dream-like place where even the horrors of war cannot overcome the spirit and humanity of the characters. It's a beautiful love story that made me ache even after I'd finished it, but it is so much more than a love story. It is a fairy tale interlaced with the comical yet often tragic realities of life.

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Summary: Fabulous!!
Review: I've never cried while reading a book before. And only part of this was sad. One of the richest books I've ever read.

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Summary: This book is contagious and addictive
Review: I caught the disease from a British friend and have since passed it on to seven or eight people. The first sign of infection is unstoppable laughter followed almost immediately by unending tears. These will alternate until the end of the book, when the more advanced symptoms set in: the patient will wander around as if lost, experience a feeling of emptiness, and suffer strong cravings for anything else by Louis de Bernieres. As he hasn't written much and Corelli's Mandolin is his best, these cravings are largely unquenchable. The sufferer will have just resigned him/herself to enduring them when s/he will realize that there is another, more chronic symptom: suddenly no other book is readable. I personally suffered an inability to read anything not by L. de Bernieres for three months, and my roommate is still mad at me for having exposed her to this debilitating disease. Rereading Corelli's Mandolin will lead to a full relapse of all symptoms.

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Summary: Mostly brilliant and evocative, soap opera ending
Review: Corelli knew quite a few of the villagers and one or two questions would have told him what was going on with Pellagia. The ending is so mushy and improbable (a perfect ending for an American movie} that for me it dilutes the power of this brilliant book. Bernieres' use of language and his prose make me marvel at his talent . If the end of the book had been written in the same style as the earlier chapters then, it would have ranked as a masterpiece.

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Summary: Excellent novel, a true masterpiece!
Review: My family is native to the island of Cephallonia. My parents are from two different villages, only 2 km apart (Havriata & Havdata), yet each is vastly different in their thought process, use of slang, and mannerisms. Mr. de B. has captured the essence of these island people; strong, bold, and stubborn while loving, humerous, generous, and passionate. I strongly recommend this novel, it is as true to life as any book that I have ever read. I actually bought a copy for my father, with every passage he read we would reminisce about the island and the contrasting way of life. To read it is to love it, to love it is to live it. Thank you Mr. Louis de Bernieres! "Efharisto phile"

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Summary: This is the best book I have ever read!
Review: A dear friend gave me Captain Corelli's Mandolin in 1996, and I have since recommended it to at least a dozen other dear friends, all of whom have recommended it to others. I have read it at least a dozen times, and sometimes when I get to the end I go back to the beginning right there and then. I still laugh out loud when the snails take over the Doctor's house; I can hear the doomed Italians singing the "Humming Chorus", and it always makes me cry. The characters have become old friends ... like many others, I am sad that this book has to have an end! I'm not entirely sure what it is about Captain Corelli that makes it my hands-down, all-time favourite novel -- the you-are-there descriptions of landscapes and events, the uncannily real characters, the way de Bernières manages to give each narrator a unique voice, the fascination of the Cephallonian atmosphere -- or maybe it's just the total effect. Its only down side is that for a long time I found it almost impossible to lay my hands on copies of the Minerva paperback, but that seems to have changed now, thank goodness! I have yet to give or recommend it to anyone who didn't fall in love with it. Whoever and wherever you are, READ THIS BOOK -- you won't regret it!

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Summary: de bernieres greatest
Review: I didn't enjoy reading books much until my friend introduced me to this one.After reading the first page I fell in love with the humor, the style ,the characters, the goat I couldn't stop reading it. I read it three times and bought and read all his other books to boot, this being my favourite. This is a wonderful book and I am eternally greatful to my friend for giving it to me(he actually was just going to lend it to me but I took it). Buy it, read it, love it and pass it on. great book.

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Summary: A wonderful tale.
Review: De Bernieres has given us a book of wonderful characters that the reader can come to care for. The story is absorbing and interesting for its historical and cultural content. I plan to read more of this author.