Corelli's Mandolin: A Novel (Vintage International)

This book was recommended to me when I was in the American Book Store in Paris. At the time he said that its a book that you will not put down. When I first tried to read it and put it down and go back to it. Then I was so involved in the story, in the characters that I could not put it down. He told me when he recommended it that it might take a few starts. He was on target. When you choose to spend a few hours in the world of Captain Correlli you will want to share this book with people that you really care about since it is soo special. Its a book to reread. Don't watch the movie,its alien to the book. when I was on the last page, I thought what could match this now as a most incredible read. For a while nothing. It stays with you. you care about the characters and I laughed I cried was sad and its in my bookcase as Captain Correlli's Mandolin and as Corelli's Mandolin. the US and bought in Paris copies. Writing this review perhaps its time to open it again.

I may be wrong, but I don't think I've ever written a review in which I've called a book a "masterpiece," but there is a first time for everything, and this is the time. There are so many ways to describe this book that I'm not even sure where to begin, but let's try a few. It's wonderful historical fiction, writ small -- it takes place on a Greek island during WWII; it's not about vast armies or great issues of diplomacy, but about humble people and all they celebrate and are subjected to in a most horrible time. The writing is brilliant, and the book has so many passages of great wit and great tenderness that I lost count. The book is impressionistic -- in fact, it starts out so slowly that I wasn't sure I could get through it; there are seemingly random details and episodes that don't flow seamlessly into one another. Then they do, and it's like the coming together of different themes in a great piece of music -- if you're into opera, think of the final trio in Der Rosenkavalier, which to this day, after dozens of hearings, still makes me shiver with its beauty.I think I've made my point, so rather than belabor the issue, I'll just say that this book restored my faith in the novel.I'll also say that, as noted above, this book requires some perseverance; it's not easy to get into, but it is well worth it when you do.

This has to be the best book I have read this year. DeBernieres has woven a masterpiece out of words that flow into each other in what I can only call poetic philosophy. It has all the elements that I want in a book: historical fiction, varied and intriguing points of view expounded by unforgettable characters, , comedy, tragedy, deep love, loss, despair and redemption.I love a book that truly stretches my knowledge of history, touches chords of recognition over and over, and sends me to the dictionary often. I have read a lot over 55 years and pride myself on having an extensive vocabulary which I actually use on a daily basis, but Dr Bernieres challenged me to to a fuel of verbal pyrotechnics which he invariably won.The story centers on the Greek island of Cephalonia from the thirties to the nineties, focusing on the constant stream of invaders and catastrophes suffered by the tenacious population. But it's not just the story that grabs you; it's the way the story is told. There are sections of stream of consciousness writing, almost prose poetry, that sucked me into a vortex of thought that I found impossible to pull out of until the author finished and let go of my mind. I know I sound a bit pompous and grandiose, but I feel a deep connection to this book. In some ways it reminded me of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose without the medieval whodunit aspect, but rather shares with that book a eloquence and profundity of thought. If you're looking for an easy read, this is not the book for you, but if you love to get lost in a book while following the flow of an interesting mind, you must experience this imaginative creation.

Corelli's Mandolin is a passionate, inventive, funny, and extravagant novel. Set on the Ionian island of Cephallonia in Greece during the Second World War, the novel is largely the story of the local physician, Dr. Iannis, and his attractive, but willful, daughter Pelagia. The story follows Pelagia’s first love with Mandras, a local fisherman who leaves to fight in the war. Soon after, Cephallonia is invaded by Italian soldiers. An Italian captain, Antonio Corelli, is assigned to live in their home, where he soon begins a romantic intrigue with Pelagia. The novel has a long list of eccentric and engaging minor characters: Carlo, the secretively gay soldier, the strong man Velisarios, the wonderfully curious Lemoni, and Pelagia’s pet pine marten, Psipsina. Some of these characters even carry their own storyline.Although it could be called a historical romance, Corelli's Mandolin is also a biting political satire. It chronicles the horrors and absurdity of war, as well as the boredom of occupation. It abounds with all the grand topics of literature. De Bernières is a master of the written word and a gifted storyteller. There are rich characterizations and witty dialogue; at times I laughed out loud. However the book is not without problems. The introduction seems long and disjointed (Captian Corelli doesn’t show up until you’re a third of the way through the story), and the ending seems drawn-out and unpersuasive. However, if you will patiently wait and you’re your way through, a story well worth reading emerges.

Love the book and the way it is written

Eine spannende und berührende Geschichte auf Kephallonia. Das Buch hat literarisch und möglicherweise auch historisch sicher Schwächen. So gibt es einige Stereotypien, und es ist auch zutreffend, dass die Geschichte eigentlich zu Kriegsende ein natürliches Ende hat - das Ende des Buchs bis fast in die Gegenwart ist dann wie ein Epilog, in der das weitere Leben der Protagonisten etwas lieblos im Zeitraffer heruntererzählt ist.Insgesamt jedoch gibt das Buch soviel Einblick in eine uns als Deutschen wenig bekannte Periode der gemeinsamen griechischen, deutschen, italienischen und damit europäischen Geschichte, dass ich das fast für eine Pflichtlektüre halte. Vor allem natürlich, wenn man die ionischen Inseln bereist. Ich war sehr gefesselt und auch mitgenommen.

An excellent book. Worth reading it. When I srarted, it was impossible to stop.Fiction mingled with real facts about the War.