Bel Canto (Paperback)

by Ann Patchett (Author) "When the lights went off the accompanist kissed her..." (more)
Key Phrases: young terrorists, china closet, Roxane Coss, General Benjamin, Father Arguedas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In an unnamed South American country, a world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan. His hosts hope that Mr. Hosokawa can be persuaded to build a factory in their Third World backwater. Alas, in the opening sequence, just as the accompanist kisses the soprano, a ragtag band of 18 terrorists enters the vice-presidential mansion through the air conditioning ducts. Their quarry is the president, who has unfortunately stayed home to watch a favorite soap opera. And thus, from the beginning, things go awry.

Among the hostages are not only Hosokawa and Roxane Coss, the American soprano, but an assortment of Russian, Italian, and French diplomatic types. Reuben Iglesias, the diminutive and gracious vice president, quickly gets sideways of the kidnappers, who have no interest in him whatsoever. Meanwhile, a Swiss Red Cross negotiator named Joachim Messner is roped into service while vacationing. He comes and goes, wrangling over terms and demands, and the days stretch into weeks, the weeks into months.

With the omniscience of magic realism, Ann Patchett flits in and out of the hearts and psyches of hostage and terrorist alike, and in doing so reveals a profound, shared humanity. Her voice is suitably lyrical, melodic, full of warmth and compassion. Hearing opera sung live for the first time, a young priest reflects:

Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God's own voice poured from her. How far she must have gone inside herself to call up that voice. It was as if the voice came from the center part of the earth and by the sheer effort and diligence of her will she had pulled it up through the dirt and rock and through the floorboards of the house, up into her feet, where it pulled through her, reaching, lifting, warmed by her, and then out of the white lily of her throat and straight to God in heaven.

Joined by no common language except music, the 58 international hostages and their captors forge unexpected bonds. Time stands still, priorities rearrange themselves. Ultimately, of course, something has to give, even in a novel so imbued with the rich imaginative potential of magic realism. But in a fractious world, Bel Canto remains a gentle reminder of the transcendence of beauty and love. --Victoria Jenkins --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Lucky Mr. Hosokawa. The well-connected Japanese businessman, now in an unnamed South American country on yet another job, is having a very special birthday party. At the home of the country's vice president, opera singer Roxane Cos will be performing for him and his guests. But what's this? Armed men invading the premises? These ragtag revolutionaries are looking for the president and disappointed that he is not there, but that doesn't stop them from holding the party goers hostage. What happens after that was, for this reviewer, a story that failed to ignite. Patchett (The Patron Saint of Liars) generates little tension as she moves her players around the board, and one is disappointed that there is little reflection about the head-on clash of art and life. This book is getting a big promotional pitch, however, so libraries may want to consider.
- Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (August 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060838728
• ISBN-13: 978-0060838720
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (599 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,108 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

219 of 231 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!, May 14, 2003

By	J. Marren "jtm497" (Glen Ridge, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bel Canto (Paperback)

"Bel Canto" is a beautifully written story of unlikely love and secret desires. Do not be put off by the barebones plot--a group of people at a party taken hostage by South American terrorists. And do not think you are in for a routine "put a bunch of strangers in a room and then learn their life stories" sort of saga. Patchett gathers together a group that spans nationalities, professions and class and reveals the hidden depths, sometimes in a few short pages, through their interactions with each other.
Take the Russian minister of commerce--portrayed as something of a buffoon who has fallen in love with Roxane, the opera singer. He screws up his courage to declare himself--which must be done through Gen, the translator. What he says to her is completely unexpected--a wonderful story of his childhood and an art book. He declares himself a man who appreciates beauty and therefore worthy to love her, and asks nothing in return. Meanwhile we see into the heart of Gen the translator, as he awkwardly acts as intermediary he realizes he has never told anyone that he loves them, not a woman, not family, not his mother--he feels as if his life has been to act as a conduit for the thoughts and feelings of others, that he has never experienced a real life of his own. Then there is the relationship of Mr. Hosokawa and Roxane, who do not share a common language. Is it possible to love a person to whom you cannot speak?
I loved the transformation of the characters that occurs--the Vice President of the country dreams of adopting one of the young terrorists and becoming a gardener, another terrorist uncovers his great gift as a singer, a buttoned up Japanese businessman becomes Roxane's accompianist, the young priest becomes a gifted and courageous spiritual counselor. The Generals become human too, worrying about their young soldiers as a close relative might worry about a child, and regretting recruiting them for this operation that has gone terribly wrong.

Like the hostages themselves, we get lulled by the harmony and unreality of life within the compound, yet as time passes Patchett delicately conveys a sense of impending doom through the Swiss Red Cross mediator, who himself longs to become a hostage after seeing the community that has been created within the walls of the Vice President's house. Patchett tells us at the beginning of the story what the end will be, and yet creates an aura of suspense as we realize that dreams of the future will never be fulfilled.
There is a surprise ending here that I wasn't sure rang true, but the book stands without it--a wonderful novel!

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Song, June 28, 2001

By	Roe P. Wiles (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Bel Canto: A Novel (Hardcover)

I thought Bel Canto might evolve into an oppressive hostage story, but instead, it is an amazing study of human beings, their universality, and idealized love- certainly a beautiful song. The set-up one can read on the book jacket: Paraphrased, people of various nationalities attend a birthday party for a Japanese techno tycoon who was enticed to attend because his favorite Diva was entertaining. A subversive group takes the entire party hostage, since the group was stymied and disappointed that the president of the Latin nation was not there to be kidnapped and held for political ransom. From this point, the story takes on a momentum of its own, unfolds in a most unusual way, not tumbling to the conclusion, but giving the reader time to savor the moments, the characters, and the writing. I will never again look at a linguist/translator in a casual way. A very "different" novel, easy to read, yet strikingly complex, Bel Canto is strongly recommended. I did not want it to end.

Re Bel Canto , I neglected to mention a couple of important points when I reiterated my enjoyment of the characters. The characters develop unlikely relationships among themselves and between themselves and some of the terrorists, and also, the necessity to establish unconventional routines and fill the time to adapt to the circumstances presents a most intriguing scenario. Unlikely? Perhaps. But perhaps not... My favorite of the summer of 2001.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautifully Strange and Lyrical Story, February 6, 2003

By	D.J. Maloney "James J. Maloney" (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bel Canto (Paperback)

Without the publicity that Bel Canto received as a result of its recognition through the Pen/Faulkner Award I would have passed this book by in a hearbeat.

The brief description on the back of the book didn't seem to indicate that it was the type of story I had any interest in reading.

Yet, after hearing about its recognition, I picked it up again and took a look. I started reading the first few pages in a bookstore and before I knew it, I was hooked. Ann Patchett's writing is simple, elegant and almost lyrical. It quickly becomes somewhat hypnotic.

While the story is one set in a South American embassy that has been taken hostage, it is much more a tale about how we build relationships with others by stopping all of our frenetic activity and paying attention to one another as human beings.

In Bel Canto, some odd and beautiful relationships develop between the hostages themselves, and in some cases, between the hostages and their captors.

Ultimately, Bel Canto reminds me that I need to slow down and hold myself hostage to more moments in my own life. As busy as I may become, there is no going back in time to simply pay attention to the people I have passed by and not given much thought to.

I think Bel Canto is a wonderful story; a good lesson on the value of simple human encounter and the spiritual rewards that we find in paying attention to the people we travel the earth with every day.

A really fine read. A deserving prizewinner!


James J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota USA