Ann Patchett

Winner of The Women’s Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. The poignant – and at times very funny – novel from the author of The Dutch House and Commonwealth.

Bel Canto

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gunwielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.

The last 5% of this book was incredible. In captivity, the characters discover who they might have been had they been born into different worlds - this grows into the hope of who they might be after they leave this place. This hope is mirrored in the reader, who at the end feels that particular kind of heartbreak that comes from a happy ending being denied. 

Getting to this point in the book was a slow burn though. I think this was probably needed to create the emotional response that comes from the last chapter, but along the way I felt bored.

Jacqui Spears

The last 5% of this book was incredible. In captivity, the characters discover who they might have been had they been born into different worlds - this grows into the hope of who they might be after they leave this place. This hope is mirrored in the reader, who at the end feels that particular kind of heartbreak that comes from a happy ending being denied. 

Getting to this point in the book was a slow burn though. I think this was probably needed to create the emotional response that comes from the last chapter, but along the way I felt bored.

At first a bit too comic, a bit too light — the improbable conceit, the cast of types. And then the risk of a too pat ode to the transformative power of art — which, sure, happens, and still doesn’t save everyone. By the end, surprisingly moving and melancholy. (Still not sure how I feel about the unnamed Latin American country tho .)

Andrew

Melancholic. Tugged at heartstrings, and wonderfully married poetry and prose

Emily

Ann Patchett is a genius BUT this ranks below Commonwealth and The Dutch House and The State of Winder. On to Tom Lake…

Hannah Wilken

Honestly made me cry from how beautiful it is. Will be rereading for the rest of my life.

Elisabeth Thoresen

When terrorists seize hostages at an embassy party, an unlikely assortment of people is thrown together, including American opera star Roxane Coss and Mr. Hosokawa, a Japanese CEO and her biggest fan. By the author of The Magician's Assistant. Reprint.

A Novel

Laura Mauler

I read this book mostly at work, which was actually perfect considering it deals with hostages trying to make it through the minutes-hours-days with very little to occupy their time. A very subtle book that is all about quiet anticipation. I thought it was wonderful.

Harry L

Pretty good. For the most part I really enjoyed it but I found some parts a bit far fetched and the ending very abrupt - I would have liked a bit more explanation about what happened in the time between the final chapter and the epilogue.

Siya S

Dana Kraft

I think I was oversold on this. I almost threw in the towel after 50 pages but stuck with it. It was worth finishing and there are some interesting plot lines and characters but in general, it was meh.

Celeste Richardson

Bel Canto is a beautiful novel. I’ve never read Ann Patchett before, but I quickly became infatuated with her storytelling over the course of this novel. To be completely honest, this was a 5 star read until the last ten pages. I shouldn’t have been so blindsided by the climactic events. The story does, after all, revolve around opera. But I was indeed blindsided. I feel slightly scarred. It was still a great book, and one that I might even read again someday, but the list of people to whom I would recommend it shrunk significantly in those last pages.
“Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. Don't you think? It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see.” 
In an unnamed South American country, a birthday party is being held in the home of the nation’s vice president. Mr. Hosokawa, the Japanese businessman who is being celebrated, would never have attended if not bribed with a private performance by his favorite opera singer, Roxane Coss. Immediately after the final notes are sung, every party attendee is taken hostage by a terrorist group. The terrorists invaded with the very distinct purpose of kidnapping the president and holding him for ransom in order to free their compatriots from prison. There’s one snag in this plan: the president isn’t in attendance. It just so happens that Mr. Hosokawa’s birthday fell on a Tuesday night. The president catches up on his soap opera on Tuesday nights, and even such a distinguished and economically important an event will not draw him away from his television on this night. The terrorists find themselves with over a hundred hostages instead of the one important hostage they sought.
“If someone loves you for what you can do then it's flattering, but why do you love them? If someone loves you for who you are then they have to know you, which means you have to know them.”
This is such a deep dive of a character study. So many people from so many backgrounds are kept together for an extended period of time, outside of the professions that have defined them and without even the ability to chat with the others without the help of the lone translator in the group. The impact that the language barrier has on the group is immense. And yet, at the same time, it means absolutely nothing. What can bind up together during such a time? Music. Music is the language that everyone on the planet shares, no matter the language in which the lyrics are written. The way Patchett portrayed music and its importance spoke to me on such a deep level. With the aid of music, we see love cross the barrier of language, and it is beautiful to behold. I truly believe that music is one of the most powerful forces in the universe, and Patchett conveyed that very well.
“She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.”
It’s amazing what strange circumstances to which you can adjust yourself. Even when you find yourself in terrible situation you never could’ve expected, sometimes you can find immense beauty in weirdness and even discomfort. And you can keep learning no matter where you are. Education plays a fanscinating role in this book. Not only how it impacts the life you live, but also how thirsty minds can find ways to learn in any situation.
“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how.”
Bel Canto is a brilliant novel, even if I didn’t care for the ending. Honestly, as much as I disliked those final events, I could have respected Patchett’s choice far more had she not tacked on an epilogue that felt like a weak attempt to pacify fans by giving them a semblance of a happy ending. If you’re someone who can handle fictional tragedy and uncomfortable situations, and especially if you love music in literature as much as I do, I recommend picking up Bel Canto. Just brace yourself as you near those final pages.

You can find  this review and more at Novel Notions.

Fraser Simons

It took a while for this book to click with me. I had it in mind that it would be a weird thriller, or something. But I’m not sure what I’d describe it as. Thematically it is perfect. The character work is top notch. It’s poignant and sad and a reflection of societal problems that brilliantly reflect the reason for the event to even happen in the first place. You see it coming and you’re still shot right through at the end. Brilliant stuff.

Austin Leach

Excellent exploration of the interpersonal relationships and the sadness of the realization that captivity was the best time in the lives of both the kidnapped and the terrorists.

Maria

книга про стокгольмский синдром. читать не скучно, но при этом не покидает ощущение, что наблюдаешь за больным человеком и помочь ему не можешь. отдельно беспокоит, что непонятно отношение к предмету автора - описаны все переживания заложников с изрядной долей романтизма, но с точки зрения героев, и для них все эти переживания естественно романтичны. а вот что думает автор - хрен знает. надеюсь все-таки понимает, что ничего здорового в этой романтике нет

Tanya Sutton

This book actually made me cry, which is not an easy thing to do.

Devin Mainville

I went into this book knowing next to nothing about it. I saw a comment somewhere on bookstagram stating “I wish I could read Bel Canto for the first time again” and then happened to come across it shortly after at a used books store, so I picked it up.

Given the romantic title, I was pretty surprised to find out the story is about a terrorist group who takes a birthday party hostage and hold them prisoner for and extended period of time. But the title’s romanticism is still appropriate for the magical, ethereal tale that follows. We meet and learn about a whole host of characters, but mainly follow the Japanese business man whose party it was, the renowned opera singer that lured him to the unnamed South American country, his translator and one of the terrorists.

While this book was first published in 2001, it feels incredibly prescient in the time of Corona. So much of the story is about being stuck somewhere unexpected for an unknown amount of time, but being able to find beauty and happiness within those circumstances. For that reason alone, I recommend this book, especially if you’re still in relative lockdown with no end in sight (like me).

Every time I picked this book up I enjoyed, but I never felt a real urge to pick it up outside of my usual, dedicated reading time the way I do with books I truly love. I appreciated the writing, I enjoyed the story (though it did also take me awhile to really get into it), but I can’t say I truly loved the book as a whole.

Also, the movie is not good. Don’t waste your time.

Daryl Houston

I inhaled this improbable utopian story in a day and enjoyed it a lot, though as I sit down two days later to jot down a note about it, I can remember very little about why I liked it. Was it the story? Was it the writing? Maybe a little of both? I don't recall! It's probably more a 3.5 than a 4-star book for me.

I had never read Patchett before, so it was a treat to pick a first one that I wound up liking.

I do remember that the story seemed set farther back in time than it was actually set, and I'm not really clear on whether this was by design or was just some sort of baggage or misread I brought myself.

Janet Doré

This is a tough review...so mixed...with a great effort to avoid spoilers. I'll start with the positive...incredible character development (I will miss each of them, so real, such depth), great writing, very real emotional issues, a great grasp of true love. If I stopped here, it would get a 5 star. However...if you're looking for action, this is not the book for you. Very little happens throughout the entire book, yet the story lent itself to the potential for great action so I was turning each page with great expectations that something was going to happen, only to be disappointed all the way to the last 10 pages. Lastly (and really trying to avoid spoilers here!), by the end of the book, I felt the author wrote this book to spread her left-wing viewpoint (quite a common occurrence, but a bit over the top in this book) and it was just so far-fetched that it was hard to swallow. That being said, I can understand why someone else could love this book...just not this someone.

Bel Canto

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