Bel Canto

Books | Fiction / Action & Adventure

3.8

(887)

Ann Patchett

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Winner of the Orange Prize • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist"Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." —Washington Post Book WorldNew York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett’s spellbinding novel about love and opera, and the unifying ways people learn to communicate across cultural barriers in times of crisisSomewhere 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 gun-wielding 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.Patchett's lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.

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More Details:

Author

Ann Patchett

Pages

336

Publisher

Harper Collins

Published Date

2009-03-17

ISBN

0061738883 9780061738883

Community ReviewsSee all

"I had been waiting to read this past work - a best seller no less. I must say. I was disappointed. The ending was so abrupt (though predictable). I suppose it was the very tail end that really made me question why I even bothered to finish... hard to relate to, somewhat dry/monotonous storyline. I much prefer other works by this author. "

Gerri D

"Possibly my favorite Ann Patchett book. A beautiful impossible world is created with her simple yet vivid prose. I couldnt put the audiobook away and so listened for hours at a time. I felt so many emotions! Such great easy fluid writing yet the words wove together such a beautiful and complex world with many characters. Now I have to watch the movie adaptation to see where it went wrong. "

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Barndi Kim

"It wasn’t a horrible book, very intricately written, but it was simply too slow of a book and I had a hard time staying interested in it. "

f .

"If you told me I would love a story about opera and a hostage situation, I would have doubts unless you are referencing this book. Then I would agree wholeheartedly. This was an intriguing look at human behavior, language, and surviving difficult circumstances. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

Kalena Medina

"I do not know how to rate this one because I have mixed feelings. I read one review that said they recommended this to "NPR listeners who secretly want to read a romance" and that kind of describes this novel. Overall, I really liked this novel but I HATED the epilogue. I am going to pretend I never read those few pages because it actually ruined the opinion I had of the book up to that point. It is a beautifully written book, so if you can suspend your sense of reality it is very enjoyable. Instead of the stupid epilogue that was written, I would have preferred an epilogue that was more of a "wrap up" of all of the characters after the incident was over. I'm giving it a 4, but I feel it is more of a 3.5 - it would have been a solid 4 without that epilogue."

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"My favorite book."

Anna Farb

"A simple yet multilayered plot with amazingly beautiful prose. A book that gives one a faith in the human spirit. I would highly recommend this to anyone."

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Alexander Exman

"Mine too!"

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Douglas Stencil

"holy **** these characters. i was glued to the book because i loved them all. beautiful setting, weirdly peaceful for a book about a hostage situation, kinda heartbreaking but lots of romance. made me want to study languages a bit"