Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Corelli's Mandolin

By: Louis de Bernieres
Narrated by: Stephen Lang
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.75

Buy for $24.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The acclaimed story of a timeless place that one day wakes up to find itself in the jaws of history: "An exuberant mixture of history and romance, written with a wit that is incandescent" (Los Angeles Times Book Review).

The place is the Greek island of Cephallonia, where gods once dabbled in the affairs of men and the local saint periodically rises from his sarcophagus to cure the mad. Then the tide of World War II rolls onto the island's shores in the form of the conquering Italian army.

Caught in the occupation are Pelagia, a willful, beautiful young woman, and the two suitors vying for her love: Mandras, a gentle fisherman turned ruthless guerilla, and the charming, mandolin-playing Captain Corelli, a reluctant officer of the Italian garrison on the island. Rich with loyalties and betrayals, and set against a landscape where the factual blends seamlessly with the fantastic, Corelli's Mandolin is a passionate novel as rich in ideas as it is genuinely moving.

©2012 Louis de Bernieres (P)2019 Random House Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"Brims with all the grand topics of literature—love and death, heroism and skull-duggery, humor and pathos, not to mention art and religion.... A good old-fashioned novel." —The Washington Post Book World

"An exuberant mixture of history and romance, written with a wit that is incandescent." —Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Stunning.... A high-spirited historical romance.... Remarkable." —The New York Times Book Review

What listeners say about Corelli's Mandolin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    230
  • 4 Stars
    45
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    222
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    193
  • 4 Stars
    44
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Totally Transported

I have been an Audible member since 2002, and this has been simply the best listening experience I have had. Stephen Lang does masterful job bringing these animated characters to life and sweeping you into the cyclone that was life in Greece at this time.

Just a great experience - recommend it highly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exquisite writing

This is a fabulous book. The story and characters are well developed and the writing is almost poetic at times. I have not seen the movie but am trying to find it online. I have read many WWII books, but had not read one placed in Greece so this presented a new view for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, but movie was better

Great story and great characters. The movie and book have some similarities, but they are different. While I liked the movie better, the book was very enjoyable. I would recommend this book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just as wonderful as when first published

I read Corelli’s Mandolin when it was first published and fell in love with it. It’s one of my very favorite books. I braced myself for the audiobook not living up to my very fond memories and needn’t have worried. The narration is as magical as the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Timeless tale of war and romance

Wonderful combination of history and romance set in the tragedy of war. Beautiful, illustrative character development. I loved the author’s wit and didn’t want it to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful novel. Delightful reader.

This performer/reader is especially skilled. Bravo! Thank you for a delightful experience. I was transported.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The perfect narrator for the perfect story

I found this book after hearing David Brooks quote a passage about true love from the book by David Brooks on PBS news. To the reader or listener, I recommend you to stay with it … the author takes his time to introduce and develop each character … endearing them to us over time … and leaving us longing for their company when the book ends. Cannot recommend this one enough … and I recommend this as an audible over a book to be read, if you can. The narrator is outstanding!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful novel; Great narrator!

This is a terrific older book which deserves a new look by all who were too young to have been exposed to it years ago. It has the scope of a Gone With the Wind, also a wartime novel entwined with a love story. The author has a powerful command of language which combines with the narrator’s Italian or Greek accent to make book brilliantly come to life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing and moving historical fiction!

I have over two hundred books in my Audible library.
This is the best one.
It is informative, fast paced, moving and really beautiful in long stretches.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

3/4

Like so many others, I LOVED the first 3/4 of this novel. I will stop there (and wish that Bernieres had, too).

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!