A wonderful read where the setting is an ongoing hostage situation in the Vice President’s mansion. The country is vague, somewhere in South America. This book reminded me of Ian McEwan’s amazing but dark novel Saturday where the setting is also a hostage situation. I enjoyed Bel Canto more, it is less of a thriller but more spellbinding.

I am drawn to novels where death is not used as the plot crutch. Rather in Bel Canto it is the act of observing how the characters act out their lives with the omnipresent threat of death. The plot in this book is not realistic and the author does not make any pretenses that it is. However the international cast of characters are all well drawn and it is rare that I find a novel where all of the characters are interesting. I think that is what made Bel Canto so enjoyable for me.

“To think that God heard his name from so many voices.” (4.5 stars)

The ending of “Bel Canto” left me in a bit of a daze for a few minutes. The novel cast a spell so strong, that when the jarring reality of life springs up at the conclusion you can’t help but be a little disoriented.
This is a novel that has been on my radar for years, but I am just now picking it up.
This story, told by an omniscient narrator, follows a hostage situation in the vice presidential palace of an unnamed South American country. The hostages include a world famous opera soprano, and many business and political leaders from various countries. The point of view also considers the guerrillas who take the hostages.
I have never read an Ann Patchett novel before. I will pick her up again! She has a simplicity and lovely finesse with language. I was caught up in the story, but also in the words she used to weave it. With a precise prose that brimmed with clarity Patchett created characters that, even if only a few lines of the text were devoted to them, came across as real people.
I feel like opera gets a lot of negative attention from readers of this text. And opera is important to many of the characters in the book. However, I feel the bigger point is what opera represents to many of the characters in the text. It is a source of life and inspiration. Something that gives joy and generates much power and strong feelings. That is something different for every person alive, and when you realize that you put opera in its proper context in this book, and you can place the love that characters feel for that art in its proper context, and thus appreciate it, and its potency as used in “Bel Canto”.
So many enchanting moments in this book. So many small pleasures. I loved the world it created. I loved the people in that world. So many characters whose small joys I felt as my own. I loved their truth, their pain, and humanity.

“Bel Canto” is something else!

My second book by Ann Patchett and another 'ok read'. Not sure whether I'm not reading the right books or she is just not for me?

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story was a slow burn and all the characters and developments in the plot were so well developed. One of my favourite reads this year.

High 4*

I'm patting myself on the back for trying this audiobook again. The first time around, I just couldn't get into it - I put it down to not being in the right mood, although it was puzzling as I adore Opera and I'm keen on Latin anything and I had enjoyed Patchett's writing before.

For what it's worth, I wasn't as enchanted with Anna Fields' delivery. I hope this audiobook is reissued, with a better production - I mean you have opera, you have all kind of languages, bullets - it could be an enhanced experience. Whenever a certain aria was mentioned, I found myself singing it, although it hurt my own ears, it's torture for those who hear me. I did get used to the narrator, as one does. As the novel progressed and we got to know some of the characters, I was completely taken with the story. I could easily picture the location, the characters, their interactions. I know this has been made into a movie and I'm kind of desperate to get my hands on it, see what they've done with it.

So what is this about?
In an unidentified Latin American country, a group of insurgents assail the vice-president's house where a big party was taking place. They were hoping to kidnap the president, who was absent, therefore they find themselves in a situation they didn't prepare for. After releasing the women, the kids and the workers, the insurgents and the fifty-nine others are locked up inside a beautiful mansion while the police were waiting outside. The inhabitants are people from many parts of the world: Japanese, Italians, Germans, Russians, locals, and the renowned American soprano, Roxanne Coss.

My favourite characters were the Japanese men: a rich businessman, who's obsessed with opera, Katsumi Hosokawa, and his interpreter, Gen Watanabe. They were classy, dignified and very intelligent.

I appreciated that Patchett chose to portray most of the terrorists as more than just jungle rats.
To have even the most uneducated brought to their knees by the power of opera was music to my ears and heart.

As it's been established, Patchett writes characters incredibly well. She's at her best in this novel.
Bel Canto is probably my favourite of hers, so far anyway.

Ann Patchett writes a novel with an interesting and imaginative story about a kidnapping that asks the reader to suspend their disbelief and delve into the magic of the story that tells of love developing between seemingly different people and the romance that occurs despite the situation that the characters find themselves in.

Bel canto means "beautiful song," and Anne Patchett wanted to write a melodrama. Big emotions, big events, like an opera. The plot of her book seems allegorical; it's certainly not realistic, which makes it a surprise that it's based on real events. She was inspired by the Japanese embassy hostage crisis of 1996, during which a number of diplomats were taken hostage for a remarkable 126 days. She thought - I'm taking much of my information from a terrific interview at the end of the book - she thought, "You know what this story needs is an opera singer," and here we are.

What she's carved out of this lengthy hostage crisis is a utopian society: the have-nots forced to coexist with the haves in a world where art is the only diversion and the unifying force. As in the real-world crisis, people of many nationalities are gathered together. There's a translator who serves as witness. Love is found. They make beautiful songs. It's like a more hopeful take on John Fowles's The Collector.

Looming over it all is the suspicion that this probably won't end well, and it's to her credit that toward the end she actually had me half-convinced she was going to write a way out of it. (This is before I realized that it was based on a true story.) Even more surprising, I wouldn't have minded: I liked her characters so much that I would have taken any cheap excuse to see them live. They don't. The eventual "rescue" is sudden and agonizing.

It's a beautiful song, and this is the best book I've read in a while.

Art, love and a terrorist attack. Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? I, certainly, approve of the juxtaposition - politicians and opera divas entrapped by guerrilla fighters in a villa, in some undefined South American country, getting affected by the Stockholm syndrome by minute. Sadly it wasn't what I expected.

The opening sequence is captivating, but from then on, the plot becomes scarce and progresses forward at a speed of a glacier. The usual character build-up gets nowhere. As a result, characters' motives and behaviors remain largely unexplained throughout the novel, making it hard if not impossible to identify with any. And all further attempts at revealing what makes these individuals tick only skim the surface of their emotional life, leaving them seem cartoonish and flat. Consequently when both captors and prisoners have sudden revelations (Prompted by what exactly? Boredom? It's never fully explained...), we're told to trust their words and random declarations of love. Not all that satisfying, to tell you the truth. Shouldn't the author make me care for and believe the characters? Why am I asked to take that leap of faith. It's a lot to ask, if one's not a romantic at heart. But I'm ranting.

Back to Bel Canto. Towards the end the action picks up a little, FINALLY creating a moment of suspense. But even that fails miserably, as the outcome is predictable and delivered too abrupt. To top it all (Oh, why, Ann Tyler, why?!!) you're given a sappy and uninspiring epilogue. Why was this awarded an Orange Prize? I clearly must be missing something...

Looking back, I'm surprised I stuck with this book till the very end. Usually I have no qualms whatsoever about aborting a book. With Bel Canto, I was determined to persevere, to be able to count it towards one of the reading challenges. Bad judgement on my account, could have gone with some other book.

I finally got round to reading this.

Putting aside this is based on a real situation, where the handling of the novel seems insensitive, this is 4 stars for how the story is structured, weaving a wonderful web of interactions between characters who are unlikely to associate together.

As a story of being human and connecting with others, this is a beautiful read, made by the many, many moments of absurdity. These plough right through the different social classes and languages. The unexpected romances are also a nice touch, which also break through several barriers of class and cultures.

The plot of this book is almost like the response to an improvisational cue: “an opera singer and a terrorist – go!” It is so much more than a story of a singer, a group of terrorists, and diplomats being held hostage. If you are looking for an action-packed terrorist takeover thriller, seek it elsewhere. This story is more about human relationships.

A group of multinational diplomats, politicians, and business executives have gathered to celebrate the birthday of a Japanese electronics magnate being courted for the economic benefits he can bring to this unnamed South American country. The honoree, Katsumi Hosokawa, is accompanied by his translator. The highlight of the event involves an exclusive performance by a famous American opera singer, soprano Roxane Coss. Hosokawa has agreed to be honored at the luxurious home of the Vice President of the country, primarily to hear Miss Coss, his favorite opera singer. An unexpected hostage situation develops when revolutionaries invade the mansion. Their demands are initially denied, and an impasse ensues. As time passes, discipline among the revolutionaries becomes lax. Lines between the abductors and hostages blur, and unlikely relationships begin to form. A human drama unfolds, where emotional and psychological factors come into play. Of course, at some point the real world will have to be confronted.

About half way through, I had an epiphany. The book is not really about what is going on in the story. It is a comment on what makes us human, a moving portrait of what separates us and what brings us together, beautifully illustrated by the interactions among the terrorists and hostages. Themes include the transformative power of music, the need to be understood, the desire to learn, the need to connect, and the importance of teamwork. These people, thrown together by chance, build a subculture. Time becomes fluid. Consequences are forgotten. The beauty of music draws them together. They take time to reflect. Some turn to religion, some to philosophical discussions. They interact and find common bonds. Initially, everyone is concerned about being able to communicate in the traditional manner, and the translator is in demand. Eventually, the language barrier dissolves and they find other meaningful ways to communicate – gestures, actions, mutual appreciation of music, and even romantic love. It seeks to explore the common humanity among very different people.

The book starts off a bit slowly to formulate the relationships, but about half way through all the pieces start coming together. My only issue with it was the inclusion of an epilogue, which I thought detracted from the primary message. Recommended to readers that enjoy stories of the transformative power of music and love to bring people together, even in extreme circumstances.

1.5 "overwrought, stereotypical, ridiculous" stars !!

2015 Most Disappointing Read Award (tie)

Of all the books on my reading list, "Bel Canto" was one that I was most looking forward to. You see after my faith and my loved ones the thing I most adore is Opera.

Opera has been my passion, my solace, my escape and the most direct connection to my emotional life. I have found Opera beautiful, profound, wise and affirming. I was introduced to Opera at the age of 10 and since then there has not been a day where I have not listened to it. I remember traveling through Colombian jungle (with some friends) at the age of twenty four and ran out of batteries for my discman. I was working through some obscure Russian opera at the time. My mood plummeted so severely that one of my friends took out her AA batteries from her mini-flashlight. (now that's a good friend)so that I could listen at night until we reached the next village.

I read "The Patron Saint of Liars" by Patchett in 2013 and thought it was a very good book (3.5 stars) full of psychological insight and an understanding of what disconnection does to family relationships. I was expecting this book to be even better as it won awards, was a later novel and for God's sake was about Opera.

From the get go I felt my heart sink and chapter after chapter I read in disbelief that this was the same book that others gave such accolades. The book rang so false to my ear. The melodrama and overly disgustingly sweet sentimentality was jarring, discomforting and infuriating.

I somehow suspected that Ann Patchett had subcontracted a junior writer from Disney Animation and another burned out writer from Harlequin Romance to come together and churn this out while she joined their ideas and linked them with a very few gorgeous passages. The characters were absolute caricatures with extreme gender and ethnic stereotypes. The emotions and story line were completely illogical and the whole experience left me both angry and depleted.

The only thing that will act as salve to cure my disappointment is to go and listen to Diana Damrau sing some heavy Richard Strauss songs with orchestra. Thank goodness for that.

Addendum: My partner just noted that I rated Veronica Wants to Die by Paulo Coelho higher than this. This is getting scary.

2.5 stars, this one just wasn’t as good as The Patron Saint of Liars.