Corelli's Mandolin

Rating:
Summary: Utterly fabulous
Review: I couldn't put this book down once I got involved and lost in the story of the lives of the residents of the island of Cephallonia. It has so many great elements; history, comedy, romance, satire, and drama. De Bernieres combines them flawlessly.

Rating:
Summary: If you've never dated a book before...
Review: Corelli's Mandolin and I first went out pre-publication. It was the way everyone told me it should be: I knew right away this was the real thing. We loved every moment we spent together. We laughed; we cried. When it ended, I had a sense of loss, but I also knew that it was true: "better to have loved and lost than to have never loved." I talked about the relationship until my friends made me shut up. And then, four years later, now in paperback, we started things up again. Our love was still passionate, but more mature. I am still learning and every day is a gift.

Rating:
Summary: Even when I put in down, it played in my mind all day...
Review: I have recommended this book so often since I read it about five months ago. The author had a way of establishing a skepticism for the reader who then finds herself won over just like the natives of Cephallonia. The characters are charming and the many perspectives we get to know them (through the other character's eyes) make them seem like old friends.The title is perfect of how, despite the horrors or war, beauty cannot be ignored. It reminded me of The Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot, but I liked De Bernieres' work on a much grander scale. I am looking for more from him

Rating:
Summary: A cross between Catch-22 and Zorba the Greek.
Review: "Corelli's Mandolin," by Louis de Bernieres, is a seriocomic novel about the inhabitants of a Greek island called Cephallonia, during the time prior to and after World War II. The main characters are Dr. Iannis, an intellectual as well as a dedicated healer, and his beautiful daughter, Pelagia. The author slowly weaves a rich tapestry of colorful characters who inhabit this island, from the giant who can perform unbelievable feats of weightlifting to a priest who gets drunk at every opportunity. The tranquil life of these islanders is shattered by the onset of World War II, when the Italians and the Germans invade the island. De Bernieres intersperses moments of high comedy with scenes of great tragedy and violence. This is an anti-war novel as well as a story of love, betrayal and self-sacrifice. It is also a celebration of survival and of the richness of life. "Corelli's Mandolin" is not an easy book to read, since the author flits from one character to another and from one plot line to another very frequently. However, at the end, everything comes together satisfyingly. The novel is poignant and, at times, heartbraking. Overall, the journey to Cephallonia is well worth taking, and I recommend "Corelli's Mandolin" as a fine work of historical fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: "Corelli's Mandolin" is a wonderfully romantic story set against the terrors of WWII. The story is set on Cephalonia, a rather remote Greek island, during WWII. The beginning of the book focuses on the story of Carlo, an Italian foot soldier battling in the Greek mountains in the winter, in scenes of destruction and personal suffering more reminiscient of books I've read on WWI rather than WWII. Most of the war seems remote to the inhabitants of the island, in large part due to the benevolent Italian occupation force under Captain Corelli. Sadly, it is at the end of the war, when the Italians' German "allies" turn on them, and then when the Greeks turn on their own during the civil war, that the horrors begin. I loved this book--I thought the characters were beautifully drawn, especially Carlo and the Doctor, and the historical background was fascinating. Like several other reviewers, I thought the ending was "tacked on", and rather jarring, and the resolution of the love affair between Pelagia and Corelli quite unbelievable. But this wasn't enough of a drawback to withold 5 stars from this one. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Intellectually heady love story/anti-war novel
Review: "Corelli's Mandolin" came highly recommended by two friends whose sophisticated taste in fiction I trust. I won't comment on the plot, as the synopses above do that very well. Mr. de Bernieres is an exceptional prose stylist, who writes beautiful, elegant sentences, provides descriptions of such clarity as to make your inner eye need sunglasses, and has a twisted comic sense that reminds me of Mark Helprin and John Irving. The first 100 pages are slow going, yet still very involving, as you are introduced to the cast of characters, the island of Cephallonia, and the events leading up to the Italian occupation of the island. The pace picks up once Captain Corelli arrives on the scene and begins his beguiling seduction of Pelagia. But I must caution potential readers: this novel is dense with information, multiple narrative viewpoints, satire, history, an odd assortment of characters, and the narrator's discursive approach. I did not find this book to be a "breezy" or fast read. This is not a plot-driven novel or a page-turner by any means. If you like similar books and think the premise sounds interesting, then prepare to settle in for a leisurely, occasionally mind-bending read. Personally, I think that Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War" is a far more successful attempt at the same type of novel. Helprin is a brilliant writer with a huge intellect who plots like a madman, writes inspired and wickedly funny dialogue, and paints word pictures that will be indelibly etched in your mind. "Soldier" is probably my favorite book of the 1990's. "Corelli's Mandolin" is excellent but it's not truly a classic. Nevertheless, I await de Bernieres' next book with anticipation.

Rating:
Summary: The Definition of Masterpiece
Review: Corelli's Mandelin crosses into that magical and intangible realm known as "literature." DeBernieres' use of vocabulary is extraordinary. His descriptions of characters, setting and point of view is rich and original. The book is so full-bodied that I use it as a main text in the Core course I teach at Roger Williams University on human behavior. Here the student can find out about the complex history of Greece during WWII, get a glimpse into Metaxis, the leader of the country and his nemesis, Benito Mussolini. The chapter on "Duce" is pure genius.
DeBernieres follows the lives of approximately five individuals, three from the Greek Island of Cephallonia, Dr. Iannis and his daughter Pelagia, her boyfriend Mandras and two Italian soldiers, Carlos, a homosexual, and Captain Corelli. The book resonates with the current state of affairs for a variety of reasons, one being the use of duplicity and disinformation to sway events and thus history. DeBerniers' descriptions of war is excruciating, all too real, as the author takes the reader to the eye of the cyclone to explain how good men become transformed into amoral animals and at the same time lose their souls. This is the real horror to war, the destruction of the dignity that humans are trying to strive for. And thus the book is a caveat to all leaders to think more deeply about the full ramifications of rushing off to war.
At the end of my class, we watch John Madden's cinematic account of this extraordinary work. I disagree whole-heartedly with many of the film reviewers who minimized this film. The measure of any great movie is the audience, and I have been privileged to watch my students sit in awe as Madden takes the viewer to this complicated time and wonderful island. Madden has not only done the book justice, he has achieved his own masterpiece equivalent, in my humble opinion to perhaps the best film ever made, Casablanca. Following the book quite closely, Madden has chosen a perfect cast, and made the island of Cephallonia a cast member as well. The music does full justice to this great novel, as Madden transforms this peaceful island into the ravages of hell in a way that takes one's breath away.
Those who criticize Nicholas Cage are missing the nuance of his outstanding performance. And there are equally brilliant characterizations by John Hurt as the wise Dr. Iannis, Christian Bale as the young warrior Mandras, a man struggling to retain both his love for Pelagia and his soul as he must learn to kill to protect his island, David Morrissey in a haunting performance as the Good Nazi and Penelope Cruz in the role of a lifetime as Pelagia. Any man who doesn't fall in love with Penelope Cruz in this film has to have his head examined. This performance is up there with that of Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelley or Sofia Loren at their heights. Just as Sydney Pollack righted a problem Grisham had in the ending his book The Firm, Madden closes a gaping loophole in the climax of DeBernieres masterwork. As brilliant at DeBernieres book is, his end undoes too much, and to my mind, does not square with the premise.
Marc J. Seifer (...)

Rating:
Summary: Woderful. Don't bother with the movie....
Review: Absolutely magical story with an epic flair that explores and details the intricate relationships of a community in a small Greek island during WWII at the time of Italian and German occupation. If you have seen the movie, don't let it prejudice you - short of the title, there is little relationship between it and the book. De Bernieres shines, although for my preference, Mussolini's soliloquies could have been shorter. Multilayered characters of hilarious and intense emotional richness. Mr. Lang does a wonderful job with the voice characterizations and accents. Is there an 8 star rating?

Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL WRITING, Wonderful Story
Review: de Berniers' writing is lucious. It just flows off of the page. It's not just the story that will captivate you, but the way that de Berniers tells the story. The historical love story and the magical setting make for a wonderful combination. This is one book that I look forward to re-reading. If you saw the movie, you still don't have any idea what the book was about. Read this book!

Rating:
Summary: The Horrors and Idiocy of World War II
Review: This remarkable book brilliantly captures both the horrors and idiocy of the Second World War without leaving the confines of the small Greek island of Cephalonia. De Bernieres obviously loves his characters, and consequently so does the reader. The book swings from rich humor to abject misery effectively, and the love story between Pelagia, a Greek woman, and Antonio, an officer of the Italian army that is occupying the island, is real and touching. Their love is an antidote to the barbarity closing in around them. The secondary characters also come to life, and Mussolini's monologues, interspersed among the chapters, are a brilliant commentary on megalomania. The descriptions of life in the village on Cephalonia are both funny and moving, the battle scenes are horrifying, and the indecision of the Italian army's brass is so stupefying it still makes you angry sixty years later. I was surprised that the book went beyond the war years right up to the `90s, a touch I had mixed feelings about. But overall I thought the book a modern classic. Too bad the movie wasn't up to the standards of the book.