Corelli's Mandolin

14 CDs/ 17 1/2 hoursRead by . Also available unabridged on cassette.. Newly released movie tie-in edition.. The time -- fifty years ago. The setting -- the Greek Island of Cephallonia -- an idyllic world that is only slowly entering the twentieth century when the inexorable and transforming tide of World War II rolls onto its shores.. Louis de Bernieres's stunning novel chronicles the lives of the people of Cephallonia as they contend with the Axis invasion and occupation, and the unexpected acts of God and man that shape their lives during the five decades that follow. It chronicles the days and nights of the island's inhabitants -- the widowed doctor, his brainy daughter and her innocent (or deadly) fisherman fiance, the wine-besotted priest, the gentle strongman giant, the ancient political debaters down at the tavern, and the uninvited newcomers: in particular, the reluctant head of the Italian garrison -- the charming, mandolin-playing Captain Corelli -- and his aide-de-camp, who harbors a well of secrets and shame.. Corelli's Mandolin is a tale of human tenderness in an age of barbarism.. Stephen Lang's film credits include Gettysburg, Tombstone, and The Last Exit to Brooklyn. He starred on Broadway in Hamlet and appeared in A Few Good Men, Death of a Salesman, and Saint Joan.