A historical novel of the very best kind...full of actual history, human stories of love, sacrifice, joy and sorrow sweeping the reader along with all the emotions. I saw the movie based on this novel, and remember being relatively unmoved by it. That probably kept me from visiting the book for years, unfortunately.

In World War II, a Greek physician and his lovely young daughter on the Isle of Cephalonia live through the occupation of their paradise by both Italians and Germans; the privations and horrors associated with war in general; the treachery and brutality of an army on the verge of defeat; and the ultimate insult added to those injuries: the massive earthquake of 1953 that destroyed their homes. Through it all, the islanders manage feats of bravery and resistance; find some sympathy, friendship, and even love among the occupiers; question the ancient gods, philosophers and poets; endure. The lively irreverent Captain Antonio Corelli and his mandolin lighten the mood, and encourage hope for the future, but circumstances do not bode well for any sort of happy ending. Reviewers have aptly compared this novel to Tolstoy and Dickens, for it is tragic and comic in equal measure. Sometimes it's hard to know which mask you're seeing. 5 stars ( )

This historical fiction and romance by English author Louis de Bernières, set in Kefalonia (Cephalonia) during WWII, was the winner of the 1995 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize. Pelagia is the daughter of the island’s doctor, the educated and patriotic Dr Iannis. She grows up learning the healing arts from him, and gets engaged to the handsome Mandras. Mandras goes off to fight with a group of rather extremist communist Greek partisans and does not reply her devoted letters.

Captain Antonio Corelli lands on the island with his regiment of occupying Italian soldiers. Sadly this only happened at the end of Chapter 23 out of 77, as the book dragged a little for me before this. Corelli is a death of fresh air, with his devotion to his choir and mandolin, cheeky humour and compassionate sense of honour. Corelli is stationed at the doctor’s home as a boarder. Gradually Pelagia and Corelli fall in love, despite the obstacles of war and being natural enemies.

The was a great book which highlights the culture and ways of the island, the joy of romance and the atrocities of war, including the 1943 massacre of the Acqui troops by German soldiers. Following the Italian surrender to the Allies, the Germans demanded their dearmourement, provoking a conflict which ended up with 9,500 of the 12,000 Acqui troops being killed, over 5,000 being murdered by an execution squad.

I loved the story and de Bernière’s witty and ironic writing style, my only complaint was there was just too much of it. While there were some comical side stories, like the strong man, the drunken priest and the hermit who thought he’d seen a parachuting angel, there was just too much of it for me. This was one of the rare cases when I enjoyed the movie as much as the book. I have previously enjoyed his Australian story Red Dog, so I’d be keen to try another of his books. ( )

A beautifully written romance, full of colouful characters, music, humour, and horror, set around the real event of the massacre of Italian soldiers by the Nazis on Cefalonia towards the end of World War 2. The islanders mostly escape the war, until Mussolini decides to declare war on Greece. This leads many of the young men on the island to leave and join the defence of Greece. They successfully repel the Italian invaders, many of whom duped into a war deliberately started by their vain leader, who wanted to "make Italy great again" and impress Hitler. The cost is great on both sides, leaving those who survived shattered in body and spirit. Mandras, a fisherman engaged to Pelagia, makes his way home to Cefalonia, once carefree, but returns embittered, mentally ill and suspects correctly he is no longed loved. He heads off to join the Greek resistance and is inducted into a group of Communists. Carlo, the only survivor of his Italian battalion is redeployed to the Division led by Captain Coreli - now part of the occupying forces on Cephalonia. He would rather make music than war, and is a talented mandolin player whose love for Pelagia is the core of the story. Pelagia is the fiesty daughter of the local doctor Ianis. Ianis is the only doctor in the village and occasional vet. He is writing a history of the island but never manages to finish it. Pelagia falls in love first with Mandras and gets engaged to him before he goes to war. Her love for him wanes though as he never writes back, as he is illiterate. Officers are billeted in local people's homes, and Corelli is put in theirs. Initially offended by his presence, she is impressed by his music and the decency of his nature, falling in love with him and losing him even though he survives the massacre and has to escape the island. He promises to return, but the islanders suffer many hardships including a a more draconian occupation under the Nazis, near starvation, the attrocities of Communists replacing the Nazis as the new oppressors, then the earthquake of 1953 where Iannis died as the house collapsed on him, and destroyed most of the houses on the island. Pelagia, after she was attacked by Mandras, goes to Mandras' mother for support. Drosoula disowned Mandras and went to live with Pelagia to support her. A baby who was abandoned outside the house became Pelagia's adopted daughter, Antonia, because she sounded just like the mandolin. The 3 of them are moved into a new earthquake proof house, after Velasarios the strong man giant saves the village. They live through the changes of the island as it becomes a tourist destination, until finally Corelli returns claiming he was embittered by seeing Pelagia with baby Antonia thinking she had married another. He had gone on to become a fireman and then a world-touring musician. Now retired he wanted to return and build a house where Pelagia's used to be. It was a happy ending, but I felt it was dragged out this way purely to cover the earthquake and social changes on the island. Pelagia and Antonio should have reunited sooner - one thing the film did right I thought. ( )

the first page is one I would read to a prospective lover - if he laughs he's in ( )

This book had so much going for it. Set in WWII, de Bernieres tells the tale of a doctor and his daughter living in Greece. The focus of the book is on the daughter as she is initially wooed by a local fisherman, but later falls in love with an Italian captain, Corelli, who is living in their home while Greece is occupied.
de Bernieres does an amazing job of weaving together multiple storylines as we are introduced to a number of quirky and interesting characters, and we fall in love with them all. Seriously, this is no easy task. He makes each person come alive, and we care about them. He also manages to sneak in an enormous amount of history about this particular location in Greece and the hardships of WWII. It's heartbreaking and romantic and graphic, and yet it is also very literary and the story is revealed to you in small bite sized chapters.
It was well on the way to the Pomerantz pantheon of 5 stardom until the last 60 pages or so.
I'm not quite sure how to share my critique without revealing any spoilers, but let's just say that whereas the rest of the book was delightfully paced and written, the last 60 pages races through around 50 years of history, introduces several new characters you don't care about, and then ends with a very unbelievable misunderstanding that basically could have been rectified in about five different ways - - all of them fairly easy. In his quest to create a romantic, heartbreaking denouement, I think he just went way over the top. And not in a good way.
So, the book gets 4 stars, but justifiably could get less. I just couldn't fail to give credit for the delightful writing that beguiled me for the first 300 pages. It was a very nice ride that fell flat. ( )