Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is a novel that has touched many people. Its unique blend of humour with romance and the raw harsh reality of war and how it can affect people’s lives has chimed with many people’s own personal experiences, making it a touching and emotive read.

This is why, when asked to choose just one part of the novel I could pick that resonated with me, I had difficulty. I identified with the character Pelagia, being the only young female character and her ‘courting’ period with Corelli reminded me of some of my own experiences – showing me that in some ways things don’t change over the years. However, it is Carlo whose story I found most compelling. The giant soldier with a heart just as big hiding his sexuality and carrying with him a story of woe was touching and poignant to read.

The part of the novel that I resonated most with was Chapter 19; ‘L’omosessuale 6’, wherein Carlo has to visit the mother of his beloved Francesco who has died in battle. He has to break the news to her and his wife. I found this part of the novel particularly emotive due to the

I think that the blunt harsh language used by De Bernieres when describing the reality of Francesco’s death and the conditions in which the soldiers had lived in were very appropriate. They lived in shocking conditions, therefore shocking language works. The reader knows that Francesco died on a day that “Buzzards came down from the hills and began to tear the eyes from those long dead”, when Francesco had rolled up the leg of his trousers to reveal “the purple ulcers of white death…the rotting flesh” and that Francesco had a long excruciating death and was then buried by Carlo in the trench. This harsh use of detail matches the experiences of soldiers, thus making Carlo’s euphemized version of events more harrowing to read. To see this big man so run down and wearied by war, losing his beloved and suffering so much pain is a deeply moving read. I found myself reduced to tears reading such a strong extract, seeing the comparison of Carlo’s words and what he really hides. This is the part of Corelli I could not live without.

This insight into his personality develops over these chapters and he reveals his deep love for his best friend and comrade, Francesco. Everyone has experienced secret love and to read how he was unable to share his feelings was touching. Carlo is described as a huge man, which makes his sensitive nature seem even more different. I felt lucky to know this secret, De Bernieres’ wor

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