Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful war story - or love story.
Review: A beautifully written book of war, and love. I am so glad I read it. I agree with the reviewer who said it took him 100 pages to "get into it", but once I passed page 125 or so I was hooked. The narratives at the beginning were confusing, but I really enjoyed it. I did not love the ending, but I didn't hate it either. Very hard to get into, but stick with it.
Rating:
Summary: Far better than the movie
Review: In fact, I'm perplexed by the fact that someone even attempted to bring this book to the screen. What gives the novel energy is the way it zips around, and is unafraid to bounce between the main characters and major (and minor) historical figures.The author tends to overwrite at times, but the book is for the most part very well crafted, on point with its metaphors, and chock full of information about a time and place in history that will be unfamiliar to many American readers.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of anti-war fiction
Review: This is a fine book. At first I was a little tentative about it and thought that it was too cute, but gradually I found myself sucked into the vortex of a Greek Island and an unspeakable crime against humanity. My advice is to stick with the book and you will find that the characters grow on you as their situation becomes more desperate. My only quibble is that the author did not seem sure how to finish the work, but it is only a quibble. Captain Corelli stands for humanity at a time of inhumanity. A good man who was going to be destroyed by fate and circumstance.
Rating: 
Summary: Overwhelmingly beautiful
Review: I absolutely adored this book, and it's rare that I say that. It took me a long time to get into it though - it took me a year to read the first 100 pages and only a week and a half to read the last 300. And for a while I was considering giving it only four stars for that reason, but when I finished it I realised what an incredible journey reading the book had been for me and I had to give it five. I learnt so much about the war in Greece from this wonderful novel, and the characters were so intense and so real that the whole story just came alive for me. This book is many things: a history, a love story, an expose on Nazi Germany, a tale of Mediterranean life, a story about the barbarity of war and how it changes people. And unlike some books where the focus is so much on the romance that one becomes impatient weaving through subplots, I found that I loved reading about every minor character as much as I loved Antonio and Pelagia. Every word of this book seemed lovingly and honestly crafted; every character was like a friend you'd never tire of seeing. For those who struggled through the first quarter of the book like I did, persevere - you won't be disappointed. Louis de Bernieres has a real gift.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it - hated it
Review: It took me a while to get into this one. My sister had read it and just raved and raved about it. I started and felt like I was just plodding along. But about halfway through, I finally got caught up in the characters and the plot. I was incredibly unhappy with the resolution. This is one of those "Bridges of Madison County" books where you just want to shake the stupid characters and ask what they were thinking. I was not happy with the ending at all. But it was a good read overall.
Rating:
Summary: Real Breath Taker
Review: Corelli's Mandilin is much more than just a war and love novel.
The book narrates the life of Pegalia and her unfortunate love life adding to it WWII history, spicy incites into the lives of Southern Europeans. It is full with laughter, irony, honesty, and sorrow and is a great adventure on the Greek Island of Cephalonia.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful novel
Review: When I saw the previews for the Movie Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I was extremely excited. As I awaited the arrival of the movie, I built up the story in my mind. When I saw the movie, I was let down, which is usually the case when one builds something up too much. My mother, however, suggested that I read the book. When I first started the novel, I got extremely frustrated because de Bernieres kept changing his writing styles. As I progressed, however, the changing writing styles became essential to fully understand the intertwined stories of the differnt characters. de Bernieres uses third person, letters, monologues, first person narratives, and journal entries to allow the reader to fully connect with all the characters. de Bernieres also uses beautiful language to give the reader insight into Greek life, love between family, love triangles, the tough life of soldiers, and the harsh conditions soldiers and citizens suffer during war. History and political beliefs during WWII are accurate and informative to the reader. In Corelli's Mandolin, de Bernieres has intertwined love and history and music in a unique way. His language and descriptions entice the reader to continue and allow one's mind to create a picture of love, war, and Greece. The book surpassed all the expections I built up for the movie. It allows the reader to understand and sympathize with the characters in way the movie, no matter how wonderful, could convey to its audience. It is a fascinating book, taking the reader on an emotional rollarcoaster through Cephallonia.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Moving
Review: This novel begins by developing the characters, chapter by chapter and then in a facinating story, weaves them together in an enchanting tale of friendship, betrayal, love, love loss, comedy, tragedy, and irony. The antics of Pelegia, Dr. Iannis and Antonio will have you laughing out loud. These characters and others will also cause you to cry. This book takes you through the hardships of war, and the beauty of lasting love - This book has it all, and I would recommend this to almost anyone. The book was a little hard to follow at first, but it quickly turned into a book I couldn't put down, and wanted the story to last longer.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful novel and movie!
Review: Whenever a movie is made from a book, I feel the film really never compares. But in this case, I not only enjoyed the book but the movie as well! In fact, watching it inspired me to buy the book. I watched "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" and fell in love with the characters, the story, and the beautiful scenery--the credits said it was filmed entirely on Cephallonia. In the movie the Captain is played by Nicolas Cage and the beautiful doctor's daughter is played by Penelope Cruz. I'm only on page 72 of the book, but I can already tell you that I love it. It is beautifully written. In the simplest terms it's a love story about a doctor's daughter and the two men who try to win her affections, and it is also a history of Cephallonia. The book is funny at times (you will laugh out loud!), and very sad and touching at others.
Rating:
Summary: Corelli
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read; it's brutally honest, emotionally heartwarming, intelligent, and not in the slightest pretentious. I haven't and don't intend to see the Hollywood movie, just because the most beautiful part of this book is simply the way it's written, and that is not something that can be captured on screen. Besides learning numerous new vocabulary words (very helpful as I was studying for the GREs at the time I was reading it!), de Bernieres' writing style swept me right off my feet and kept me enthralled the entire time. I've noticed that other reviewers have commented on its difficult beginning, which I agree with, and it's important to note that in "warning" to keep a grip on this book - because once you get past Mussolini's speech, you're the better for it; and stronger, you'll continue on with a wonderful literary experience.
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