Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Beautifully Strange and Lyrical Story
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! Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Rating: - Excellent, and timely
I read Ann Patchett's "bel canto" a few months ago for a book club, and recently was amazed at the similarity of the recent Chechnen hostage crisis in Moscow. "bel canto" describes a similar situation -- patrons at a fundraiser are taken hostage in an unnamed South American country, and the days and months that follow depict the growing relationships between the hostages and the captors, and the tense and tenuous effort to end the crisis.In "bel canto" patrons have gathered for the birthday party of a wealthy Japanese benefactor, held at the home of the Vice President of the unnamed country. The country is in desperate need of the benefactor's money, and have flown in his favorite soprano from the States to perform. Shortly after her performance, the house is under siege from peasant guerrillas, who have a list of demands. What follows is a depiction of how the hostage situation leads people to reexamine their lives; strange liasions ensue, and the soprano's music is one of the few unifying forces among the disparate people involved. Patchett is a wonderful writer -- she handles a broad canvass of characters with grace, her language is lovely, and the story is compelling. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to her other books.
Rating: - Beautiful Song
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.
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