'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', One of the jems of twentieth cenutry literature. (Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres)

Member Name: surfaholic18

Product:	Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
Date:	24/05/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A truly excellent novel, engaging and beautifully written.

Disadvantages: A long novel and initially hard to grasp.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres' is a superb novel. Being over 500 pages it is also a long novel. The story is a romantic one in which 'Captain Antonio Corelli' falls in love with Pelagia on the Greek island of Cephallonia. It is brilliantly written and frequently contains some exceptional quotes. Despite it being a long novel there are many chapters which makes it easy to read.

The novel manages to portray the effects that war has on relationships and true horrors that are experienced as a result. I found it to be a particulalrly moving novel that is at times emotionally saddening, particulalry the ending of the novel. The novel frequently metaphorically depicts the characters as Greek god's giving it a wider sense of appeal. It is a very detailed book and a fascinating novel in every regard.

I found that it took the first 20 chapters or so to fully get into the book and after that it was easy to read. The film does not serve the novel justice and so I would recommend reading the novel first and then watching the film to draw a comparison. Louis de Berneires' has been commended frequently about his ability to write as though he is from Greece despite only being over there for one year to plan his novel. It is an inspirational novel and portrays how the music of the mandolin can act as an escape.

Overall I would thoughrally recommend and would class this novel as one of the great books of the 20th century and a hidden jem. Thank you very much for reading and I hope you like the novel!

Summary: This is a masterpiece in its own right and I could not recommend it any more.