It is 1941 and Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the Greek island of Cephallonia as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by the locals, but as a conscientious soldier, whose main aim is to have a peaceful war, he proves in time to be civilised, humorous - and a consummate musician. When the local doctor's daughter's letters to her fiancé go unanswered, the working of the eternal triangle seems inevitable. But can this fragile love survive as the war gets closer and the lines are drawn between invader and defender?
©1994 Louis de Bernières (P)2012 AudioGO Ltd
"My favourite book beautifully read"
Captain Corelli's Mandoln is my favourite novel of all time, and Michael Maloney recreates it faithfully. He reads the novel sensitively, evoking all of the emotion of this beautiful and moving story of love and survival in the face of the atrocities of war. I can't stop listening!!!
"absolutely wonderful"
A beautiful story - both funny and sad in equal measure. I thought the narration was superb and added even more to the characters and storyline. Simply fantastic. A must listen!!!
"Wartime love story with hard facts!"
Having seen the Hollywood version of Captain Corelli's Mandolin I was interested to see how well they had adapted it for the big screen. I have tried to read this book a few times but found it quite difficult to get into, however I have to say that the story is wonderful! and much, much better than the Hollywood version (no surprize there!). I wasn't entirely sure about Michael Maloney's reading of it at first, he reads quite quickly in parts but once I got used to it I found it a gripping listen. The story pulls no punches and all the futile and heartbreaking points of war are retold alongside a love story. If you thought you knew this story from the film then I urge you to try this, you will not be disappointed!
"Amazing"
I had tried a couple of times to read this book but gave up after the first dozen chapters as it didn't capture me. A friend encouraged me to preserve so I then downloaded this. The book is exquisite in its description of such harrowing history and the characterisation is extremely skilled. For me the narration is a triumph. The range of accents and ages of the characters are spot on but what makes it truly listenable is how pace and tone are conveyed in a way I would not get by reading it myself.