Search - Corelli's Mandolin

One of the best books I've ever read (I've read it twice). The movie was terrible; don't use that as a guide!

Skip the movie and just read the book. Beautiful setting. Very emotional.

A beautiful, lyrical book about the occupation of a small Greek island during WW II. Romantic, funny, frighteningly graphic in its depiction of the horrors of war - truly a piece of literature. (And no, I haven't seen the movie - I like Nicolas Cage, but he wouldn't have been my pick. It might ruin the book for me. . .)

This was quite a story. It was at times a little heavy for bedtime reading, but very well written, interesting, engaging.

Essentially a light-hearted book, despite the subject(the major events are historically accurate). I didn't see the movie, but I can see how it lends itself to being cinematized. Most of the people are somewhat characterized. My friend called it slow-moving, but I managed to make it through most of it.

I had trouble finishing this book, but my curiosity about what happened in Pelagia's life spurred me on. This part of this book was funny, clever and interesting to me. The author, however, goes on and on in other parts about what is happening in the war. Some of this information is relevant to the story but much of it is boring, confusing and frankly gory and disgusting. At the end, I was left with an overall sense of the futility and destruction that is part of war. Not a very happy book!