by Louis de Bernieres

isbn: 067976397X
subject: Fiction and Literature
finished: 1/1/1999

This is a romance about the fiery Pelagia, first engaged to a handsome fisherman, and later wooed by Captain Corelli of the Italian army occupying Cephallonia, the idyllic Greek island where she lives with her father. Corelli's Mandolin evokes the full range of emotions; besides being a love story it is often very funny, describing the charming backwardness of the islanders and the incompetence of the Italians; it also depicts the tragedy and atrocity of the Second World War. Though I don't know how historically accurate it is (no island could have been that idyllic), I really like this book, and got so sucked into it that I ended up killing a whole day in order to finish it. Unfortunately, I think it should have ended earlier; the 75-page denouement detracts from the impact of the book. Recommended anyway.