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Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

January 2003

Synopsis

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 Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening - until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots. Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had ever known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped." (Publisher)

Reviews

  • "Patchett's tragicomic novel -- a fantasia of guns and Puccini and Red Cross negotiations -- invokes the glorious, unreliable promises of art, politics, and love." (The New Yorker)
  • "The most romantic novel in years. A strange, terrific, spell-casting story." (San Francisco Chronicle)
  • "Elegantly alluring . . . A novel that begins with a kiss and absolutely deserves one. . . . A book that works both as a paean to art and beauty and a subtly sly comedy of manners." (New York Times)

Book Club Rating and Comments

If you or your book club has read this book and would like to share your comments, please email us at upthecreekbc@yahoo.com.

Other Books by Ann Patchett