A classic book which I had not read before and came across
in a second hand book sale last year, I have only just got around to reading. To start off with I found a good chunk of the
beginning to be very difficult to read and follow, very political which isn’t
really my thing and I very nearly gave up with it! But I am so glad that I persevered
because it turned out to be a fantastic book.
Once it got past the political aspect of the war, the characters started
to come alive. I had seen the film a
long time ago although could not remember it very well and I have also been to
Cephalonia where it is based and remember on holiday visiting some of the
places where some of the historic aspects took place.
The characters were so beautifully written, that I
empathised with them when they were sad and laughed out loud on several
occasions particularly when Corelli and Pelagia were flirting. There are also some very dark parts in the
story with some gruesome and graphic descriptions of war which made the story
feel all the more real. The massacre of
the Italian soldiers by the Germans was heartbreaking after some of the
officers had been friends and were ordered to turn against each other. I went from making myself read it, to looking
forward to getting the bus home from work so I could read some more!
There was a lot going on historically in this story based
during World War 2 and on the tiny Greek island of Cephalonia which was
occupied by both the Italians and the Germans.
Pelagia is the central character, the doctors daughter and she becomes
part of a love triangle falling in love with an Italian Captain (Corelli) who
entices her with both his charm and passionate love of music, interested more
in playing his Mandolin and singing than he is in acts of war. Meanwhile Pelagia’s fiancée goes off to war
and in the process becomes a very different man, Pelagia discovers on his
return.
I would definitely recommend this book, even for those who
may struggle to start with like me; it turned out to be one of the best books I
have ever read!
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