I really liked de Bernieres style. He is quite "dense", and I think it would be a good book to read with an atlas and a dictionary in hand. But I enjoyed it without the aids. Several of our members had a hard time getting into the book.\

It took me until page 131 to really get drawn into the characters but once that happened, I was hooked. Although for me his style of writing takes more concentration, I really appreciate how creatively he words his sentences. There is no doubt in my mind what picture he's trying to get across and his prose can be extremely beautiful, even amid the violence that results from war. Very talented writer.

Many of our members found the opening chapters of the book to be quite slow, but then they were slowly, inexorably drawn into the lives of Pellagia, the Doctor, and Corelli, as well as the numerous interesting, well drawn supporting characters.

The book's description of Greek history during World War II andthe Greek Civil War were too detailed for some, but the central story - the lives of wonderful people who are buffeted by leaders and events over which they have no control was endlessly fascinating.

Only a somewhat unconvincing end of the novel weakened the superb writing.