Louis de Bernières

Author profile

born

December 08, 1954 in London, England, The United Kingdom

gender

male

website

http://www.louisdebernieres.co.uk/

genre

Literature & Fiction, Children's Books

About this author

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Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South Am...moreNovelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American literature, particularly 'magic realism'.

In 1993, he was selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists 2' promotion in Granta magazine. His fourth novel, Corelli's Mandolin, was published in the following year, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book). It was also shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War, the novel tells the story of a love affair between the daughter of a local doctor and an Italian soldier. It has become a worldwide bestseller and has now been translated into over 30 languages. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001, and the novel has also been adapted for the stage. In 2001, Red Dog was published - a collection of stories inspired by a statue of a dog encountered on a trip to a writers' festival in Australia in 1998.

Prizes and awards
1991 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best First Book) The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
1992 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord
1994 Sunday Express Book of the Year (shortlist) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Lannan Literary Award (Fiction)
1997 British Book Awards Author of the Year
2004 Whitbread Novel Award (shortlist) Birds Without Wings
2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) (shortlist) Birds Without Wings

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Books by Louis de Bernières

Average rating: 3.85 · 22,877 ratings · 2,170 reviews · 14 distinct works

	Captain Corelli's Mandolin 3.85 avg rating — 14,476 ratings — published 1994 — 59 editions	My rating:
	Birds Without Wings 4.05 avg rating — 2,355 ratings — published 2004 — 30 editions	My rating:
	The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts 4.02 avg rating — 1,329 ratings — published 1990 — 16 editions	My rating:
	Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord 4.03 avg rating — 960 ratings — published 1991 — 15 editions	My rating:
	The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman 4.03 avg rating — 780 ratings — published 1992 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Red Dog. Louis de Bernires by Louis de Bernières, Louis De Berni'res 3.73 avg rating — 532 ratings — published 1999 — 22 editions	My rating:
	Louis de Bernieres Box Set of 3 books: The War of Don Emmanuels Nether Parts / Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord / The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman by Louis de Bernières, Louis Bernieres 4.39 avg rating — 190 ratings — published 1994	My rating:
	Notwithstanding 3.67 avg rating — 235 ratings — published 2009 — 6 editions	My rating:
	Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World 3.89 avg rating — 18 ratings — published 2001	My rating:
	Война и свет: Бескрылые птицы. Мандолина капитана Корелли (Большая книга) by Louis de Bernières, Луи де Берньер, Alexander Safronov (Translator) 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2007	My rating:

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Quotes by Louis de Bernières

“Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don't blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being "in love", which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.”
― Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin

tags: love

1,500 people liked it

“Women only nag when they feel unappreciated.”
― Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin

tags: women

686 people liked it

“Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two.”
― Louis de Bernières, Captain Corelli's Mandolin

192 people liked it

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