Captain Corelli's Mandolin [Paperback]

Louis De Bernieres (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Longman Reader Level 6 | Publication Date: February 12, 2001

In 1941, Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer is posted to the Greek Island of Cephallonia as part of the occupying forces. His aim is to have a peaceful war and he soon becomes popular with the islanders especially the doctor's daughter, Pelagia. But she has a fianc? who is away fighting the war ...A stunning novel of joy and sorrow - not to be missed.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Elt (February 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582461359
• ISBN-13: 978-0582461352
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I have read this year, October 30, 2005

By 

Junsuh - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Paperback)

Yes, the storyline is clichéd. You have a loving couple which got separated when the male was called upon to fight the war. The couple got reunited after the war and they lived happily ever after. Sounds predictable? Probably, but the treatment of the subject matter makes the novel anything but boring. Credit goes to the skilful craft of the author Louis de Bernieres, whose style of witticism, humour, irreverence and sarcasm proved to be hypnotic and mesmerizing.

The theme of music was incorporated into various parts of the story, much to this music enthusiast's delight. The protagonist, Captain Antonio Corelli, plays the mandolin, which he used to charm his lover. The mandolin plays a significant role as the symbol of love between Corelli and Pelagia, and its `reappearance' towards the end of the book led to the reunion of the lovers. Set in the years of World War II in the Greek island of Cephallonia, "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" embodies the usual war themes of sacrifice, savagery, hardship and courage. But its light-hearted touch differentiates it from other books of similar genres. It does not seek to bombard the reader with descriptions of bloodshed or the atrocities of the war. Instead it focuses on fleshing out the characters of the story, effectively allowing the reader to feel for the characters as the story plods on.

I am glad I have not watched the motion picture version of this story. Because at least I know this highly enjoyable read has provided me with lots of space for my own imagination, before the director influences me.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Strength needs no excuses and does not have to give reasons.", September 1, 2005

By 

Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Paperback)

Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize in 1995, Captain Corelli's Mandolin follows for sixty years the life of Pelagia and those who love her, beginning in World War II, when she and her father, a doctor on the small Greek island of Cephalonia, first get drawn into the war. Attractive and intelligent, Pelagia thinks herself in love with Mandras, an illiterate Greek fisherman who leaves for war. When the island is overtaken by the ineffectual Italian army, Captain Antonio Corelli is billeted in their small house. Corelli, whose response to "Heil, Hitler" was once "Heil, Puccini," is a musician, a mandolin player, who quickly establishes a singing group (meeting in the company's latrines) in preference to waging war. By the time the wounded Mandras returns, Pelagia and Corelli are in love.

Author deBernieres vividly depicts the various political movements which play out in Cephalonia--the Italian occupation; the German "cleansing" in which the Germans, nearly defeated in Europe, exact revenge on the Italians who have, with a change of government, withdrawn their support; and the later Communist insurgency in Greece and their opposition by fascist partisans. Always connecting these events to the lives of Pelagia, her father, Mandras, and Corelli, the author gracefully depicts the impact of political changes on the lives of ordinary people.

The horrors of the German revenge on the Italians reflect the wartime mentality and contrast with the good feelings various participants have been able to engender on a personal level. With the withdrawal of the Italians and Germans, the horrors of internecine warfare within the Greek community, and the extremes to which partisans, including Mandras, are willing to go are subjected to microscopic views.

DeBernieres is equally adept at contrasting idealistic young love with the institutionalized mindlessness of political passion, the love of the arts and history with the expediencies of political dogma, and one's personal commitments to other individuals with the commitments to ideologies. Realistic at the same time that it is also romantic, the novel conveys the absurdities of politics and places them within the context of real life. The author's exuberant, descriptive style enlivens the present in Greece while also emphasizing the culture of the past, leading the reader to recognize, ultimately, that in all times, wherever one finds wit and humor, one also finds pathos lurking in the background. n Mary Whipple

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, September 8, 2005

By 

Rex Librus (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Paperback)

I have to admit putting off reading this book for a long time due to the hype. In fact I only read it after reading another book dealing with war-time Greece, Lawrence Norfolk's "In the Shape of Boar" (another fantastic read). I ended up loving it. The characters are so real, and they stay with you long after you've finished the book. The decline of the village throughout occupation was particularly sharply drawn. Not to be missed!