Love and War (Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres)

Member Name: Mauri

Product:	Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
Date:	22/09/04 (852 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well Written

Disadvantages: Long winded historical background

'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' is a beautifully written novel, at times funny, at times sad but always engaging. It is set on the Greek island of Cephalonia. It covers a period spanning from just before the Second World War and continues through the Italian and later German occupation of the island to the present.

THE STORY

On the small Greek island of Cephalonia the local village doctor Iannis and his daughter Pelagia have simple but satisfying lives. Pelagia his engaged to marry Mandras a local fisherman unfortunately this idyllic situation is destroyed by the onset of war. Mandras joins the army and later the Greek partisans, as time goes by Pelagia fears he is dead. When the Italian forces capture the island, a young captain, Antonio Corelli, is billeted in the doctor's house. Although at first antagonistic towards him, the doctor and Pelagia warm to him and finally accept him as a friend. Gradually Pelagia and Antonio's feelings for each other deepen into love but yet again outside events catch up with them threaten to prevent their dreams from coming true.

MY THOUGHTS

On the face of it this is the story of Pelagia but the nature of love in general is main theme of the book the narrative is much richer and wider in its scope than at first you would imagine. De Bernieres introduces us to a myriad of other characters each with their own story to tell- Carlo a young homosexual Italian corporal trying to come to terms with his love for a fellow soldier. The local priest, father Arsenios, who has lost is faith and become a drunkard but ultimately redeems himself. Lt Weber a young idealistic Nazi who befriends Corelli and Pelagia but whose friendship and loyalty is later tested by the unfolding events of the occupation.

These characters are intertwined into a complex web of emotions and we examine different aspects of what is considered as 'love'. There is the love shown between the widowed Dr Iannis and his daughter. This is not a conventional father daughter relationship. Since the mother is dead Pelagia has taken on the role of homemaker but not in the traditional sense, she is not a subservient woman as most of the Greek women are on the island. Pelagia is strong willed and exerts a strong influence over her father, to his credit Iannis recognises this a strength of character in his daughter and encourages her to be independent and free thinking even as far as giving her some medical training an encouragement to pursue her wish to be a doctor one day. There is the superficial love that Pelagia feels for Mandras borne more out of his physical beauty than his soul. There is the unrequited love that Carlo feels for a fellow soldier and of course the 'perfect' but troubled love that Antonio has for Pelagia.

These relationships are sensitively examined and the motivations of the different characters are made very real to such and extent that it is impossible not to be drawn into their lives and the tragic events as those unfold.

The writing style is finely balanced between achieving tremendous emotional impact while at the same time being sensitive to the requirement of a compelling storyline. De Bernieres manipulates the story so has to give full impact to the shocking events but you never feel manipulated as a reader.

We mustn't forget that despite the love stories that form the central theme of the book the background is one of violent physical and ideological conflict. The descriptive passages dealing with the tragedy of war especially those set in the Greek mountains and the trenches are truly horrific and compare well with anything Hemingway penned.

De Bernieres also proves his adaptability as an author by being able to bring out the attractiveness of the sun soaked Cephalonia as well as the mesmeric beauty of the mandolin music played by the captain, which seduces Pelagia the first time she hears it and of course gives us the title of the novel.

There is always and emphasis on contrast throughout the story, the ugliness of war against the backdrop of the idyllic setting, the brutality of the soldier's life against the purity of the music that Antonio plays. By creating characters that are real De Bernieres manages to humanise the war and even the brutality of Germans is to an extent understood if not ever justified.

I don't want to give you the idea that this is a dark depressing read, undeniably there is a fair amount of tragedy and the story of Carlo in particular will not fail to move you but these dark overtones are balanced with humour especially in the earlier parts of the novel. We have the comic interactions of some of the old men in the Kapheneion a communal meeting place in the village. In these comic exchanges between some lively colourful characters the author also examines the divisions that existed in even such a small rural community the loyalty of the villagers being divided between the crown and the socialist ideology all played out against the slow steady rhythm of the village life.

The charismatic Antonio and 'Operatic' society he forms with his fellow soldiers on the island is also a light relief, the Italian soldiers show a carefree exuberance that betrays their naivety of the politics of the war and the inherent dangers that they face being allied to the Nazi regime.

So far I have made little criticism of this book but as in all novels there are flaws. The main criticism that I have come across from other people is that it's hard book to get into and I can see why this could be the case for some readers. The first 80 or so pages are used to introduce the background to the story. It has to be remembered that although the characters are fictional the events that are broadly related in the story actually happened. De Bernieres uses the first part of the novel to explain in a rather bizarre fashion through the thoughts and words of 'Il Duce' Mussolini the events that led to the Italian army invading Greece in a bid to recapture the imperial glory of the ancient Romans. Of course this policy was to say the least misguided and Mussolini is duly portrayed as an egomaniacal, overbearing, self obsessed idiot, which might be very close to the truth.

These passages are sometimes hard to follow and don't make a very good introduction or give the reader any clue as to what follows. If you are intrigued about the background to the story then this is interesting and might add to the overall impact of the novel but for many it represent too much detail. Having said this I would urge any reader to persevere as overall the narrative is spellbinding and it is does become a compelling read.

Another area of criticism is the author's distortion for some of the real events and the part played by the Greek communist and the partisans in the struggle on the island. It would be fair to say that the Greek 'freedom' fighters and the communist parties do not get a sympathetic handling from the author and I'm not qualified to say whether this was an accurate reflection of the actual situation or not but let's not forget that while the story is based on real events this is still a work of fiction and some poetic licence must be given to a storyteller.

For any of you who have come across the film version and thus might be deterred from reading the book either because you disliked the film or feel that knowing the story there is no point in reading it again think again. Leaving aside the fact that I thought Nicholas Cage was badly miscast as Captain Corelli the film version is very different from the book. Many of the central character only appear only in the periphery, much of the violence and horror of the war, which I feel is such an important part of the story, has been removed and the ending has been changed! This last part makes me shudder since the ending in the book without giving too much away has such a strong emotional impact and is so perfect a conclusion within the context of the tragic circumstances that have unfolded that to change is a outrage! That's Hollywood for you! So please whether you liked the film or not try the book it is so much better. I would recommend it to anyone.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernieres (Paperback-434 pages) is available from Amazon.co.uk for £5.99 (+p&p)



© Mauri 2009

Summary: Tragic love story on a greek island during WW2