Bel Canto
Ratings144
Average rating3.8
South America doesn't do much for me, but this unlikely story is based on an interesting premise , resolves in uncomfortable truth, and end with a surprise that has little to do with South America.
No rating. Anne Patchett said that she never reads her books, but recently she reread this book and published an annotated version. She said that she found several thinks that she would change, errors, plot etc. She had published three novels before this, none of them had done particularly well; this is the novel that really jump started her writing career and since then she has written a series of marvelous books.
The story is good but not great and sections of this is not great. Some of the characters are really two dimensional and in the end the story of the love interest came more r less as a surprise. I am personally surprised that this book won the Pen/Faulkner award, though there are plenty of hints of her talent in the stories. The Dutch House (which should have won the Pulitzer Prize) and Tom Lake are far superior books,
This book is worth reading a the reader can see the progression of her writing skills. It is definitely a permanent part of my collection and may be a book that I will read again. I am sure that there are little nuggets that I have missed in this tale.
Well this was rough. “A house full of hostage takers and hostages, all horny for an opera singer” could have saved me a few hours and would have accurately reflected the entire book. Alas, most of the story I felt like I was watching paint dry, somewhat convinced that when it was done, a beautiful picture might appear. Details emerged, enough of them not to make me quit the book, but not enough to make me forget I was watching paint dry.
The ending was, oddly, exactly what you'd think it would be, chased by a preposterous epilogue.
Do I wish Patchett gave me my time back? No. But did the last page made up for the rest? Also no.
Still, I'm giving it three stars, for lukewarm, absurdist entertainment value.
As long as you're willing to suspend some significant disbelief, this is a lovely, heartwarming book.
Just today, there was a kidnapping in the news of 17 missionaries in Haiti. It made Bel Canto seem relevant.
This story of terrorists vs. hostages starts simply enough with a birthday party in South American for a Japanese titan of industry. What happens before the end really made me wonder what relationships captives and hostage-takers really develop when the ruse doesn't work, which it rarely does.
Still, you are boxed in together, in this case for over four months. Patchett's unique set of international captives made the story even more complicated—often necessitating a translator. The reassessments that captives and rebels made in rethinking their lives and priorities add a level of intricacy I hadn't expected.
The book would probably be even more entertaining to least opera-lovers. They would pick up even more nuances than I experienced.
At times, it seemed the story dragged a little, but it gave this reader a sense of what it would be like to be held captive in the same place with the same people wearing the same clothes for a prolonged period of time. Some were able to flourish. Others didn't. Most grew very complacent with the situation, adapting to the new life of limited entertainment, activity, and stimulation. Some found work to do. Other created work for others.
Overall, an intriguing read and a believable if unexpected ending.
I got about 1/4 of the way in, and I just didn't care about anyone or how things would play out. Patchett's attitude seems to be, “why use 3 words when you can use 30 to convey the same thought?”
Also the descriptions of women seemed really objectifying and rooted in the male sexual gaze. It was getting gross.
Finally, the worst sin: this is like going to the theater to see Die Hard but the whole movie is every speaking character reminiscing about their childhood or relationships rather than the hostage plot being the focus. Oh. And OPERA THOUGHTS.
This was such an interesting story. I finished it in just two days. All the characters were so interesting and I found myself loving them all, even the terrorists. The ending was so sad and the epilogue caught me by surprise.
I honestly didn't get this one. The beginning is thrilling, the setting is original, the ending is unexpected. But between the initial suspense and the climax there's not much happening. Several characters develop unexpected relationships with each other, a few come with some sort of self-discovery. Apart from some funny details and a few interesting interactions the novel just drags on and on, I found I had to really struggle to plow through.
i've said this before and i'll say it again: it was a good book but i had absolutely no interest in it.
i was gifted this book for my birthday and it was the first i picked up post-birthday-spending-spree-tbr because of how interesting it sounded. however, i quickly lost interest because of the way this book carried on, despite it being somewhat of a thriller (or at least that's how the movie adaptation marketed it). it's definitely an interesting story and it's not by any means poorly written, i just didn't care for it at all.
This novel is as lyrical, engaging, and wonderfully charactered as you've heard. The epilogue is also as terrible as you've heard. (You have my permission to skip it.)
I have nothing to add, other than I would've loved to have seen more internal strife within the group and within the characters than we were provided after the initial set up. Some complacency is expected, but I thought this was a bit too relaxed.
A hostage situation slowly turns into a secluded world in a bubble, where terrorists and hostages communicate in all their different languages, fall in love with opera singing and gradually - through stasis and new emotional connections - learn to forget all about the differences between them. It ends where it has to end, and it's perfect.
What a surprise! I only knew a little about this book before diving in and I found it to be an excellent read. The writing is superb and I found the story to be compelling and emotionally moving. I enjoyed the role that music and language played in the interaction between the characters. Would recommend to literary fiction lovers who enjoy character driven stories. A new favorite!
Bel Canto is a story about love, mostly. Love, music, language, terrorism, friendship – the book definitely doesn't fail to deliver on those themes.
Set in South America, the story (based on a true story) begins when a large roomful of mostly affluent bureaucrats and CEO's are taken hostage by terrorists during a beautiful soprano opera performance by the book's female lead, Roxanne Coss. From there, the story stays in that same setting. The hostages end up being held captive for over 4 months! During that time, relationships are formed between hostages and terrorists, friendships grow, romances flourish.
It's going to be very difficult to review this book without giving away the ending, but I'm going to try valiantly!
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by this book. I had read and heard a lot of good things about it, so my expectations were high. There were definitely good parts! I enjoyed many passages about love and language and music. Patchett really has a flourish for colorful language on those subjects! For instance, here's a passage about music I particularly enjoyed:
“How strange his fingers felt after two weeks of not playing, as if the skin he wore now was entirely new. He could hear the softest click of his fingernails, two weeks too long, as he touched the keys. The felt-covered hammers tapped the strings gently at first, and the music, even for those who had never heard the piece before, was like a memory. From all over the house, terrorist and hostage alike turned and listened and felt a great easing in their chests....Had the accompanist played so well? It would have been impossible to remember, his talent was to be invisible, to life the soprano up, but now the people in the living room of the vice-presidential mansion listened to Kato with hunger and nothing in their lives had ever fed them so well.”
Isn't that beautiful? It's passages like that one that saved this book for me. Because of how well-written it is and how beautiful the language is, I have to give it 3 stars.
Read the rest of this review here: http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2016/02/review-bel-canto-by-ann-patchett/
Love Ann Patchett. She wove the structure of an opera into a story “torn from the headlines” and made two things that hold no interest at all for me – Peru and Opera, into a beautiful story with a host of people who came alive for me.
Short Review: Beautiful, tragic story of a temporary utopia that can never last. In an unnamed Central American country a group of terrorist invade the Vice Presidents house during a dinner party to kidnap the President and overthrow the government. The President did not come to the dinner and so the terrorists keep the rest of the guests instead. This is the story of a long hostage situation and the life the the hostages and captors make together over the months they are together. It is a tragic story, as any hostage situation must be. But temporarily there is hope and love and a new understanding about what life can be.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/bel-canto-by-ann-patchett/
I've never thought of myself as someone who would like listening to opera and I mostly just like reading about the history of opera, but this book has actually encouraged me to try listening to the music. The author wrote so beautifully about the way the music makes both the singer and the listener feel, that I'm intrigued. However, the plot was somewhat melodramatic with the love stories and the foreshadowing of the unhappy ending, which is why I gave it the 3 stars.
A haunting, beautiful, tragic book about a botched kidnapping that turns into an extended hostage situation and the relationships that develop, all wrapped in opera.
Second book about opera I've read this month. A great, if slow read. Beautiful words meant to be picked apart rather than devoured. I kept thinking this would make a hell of a movie, but it would surely be done all wrong.
one of my favorite books of all time. The writing is beautiful. I felt so connected to the characters in the book. It was one of those books where you mourn the loss of reading it when your done.
To be fair to Bel Canto, it's probably a 4 star book; however, I came into it with 5-star expectations. Having read [b:Truth and Beauty 5083254 Secrets of Truth and Beauty Megan Frazer http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239242179s/5083254.jpg 5149972] and seeing the combination of grace and brutal honesty with which Patchett depicted herself and [a:Lucy Grealy 57229 Lucy Grealy http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg], I had the highest expectations for her treatment of fictional characters. And, in some cases, she lives up to expectations.The highlight of the book is clearly Gen, the peon translator, turned by his captivity into essential personnel. The topic of language - who owns which language and what they can do with it - as the supreme power is fascinating and unique and the character is well suited by his theme. His foil, the slightly less multilingual Rubuen - Vice President turned into housekeeper by his captivity is nicely set up and the many conversations between the two really showcase the artificiality of status. Hosokawa's story is also well done. The trope of important business-person stunned by once in a lifetime event into realizing that there's more to life than work and deciding to live like it counts once it may be too late is a little overdone, but that distracts little from how well Patchett does it. The terrorists developing rapport with their hostages portion of the plot is by fair the most lauded and perhaps fell a little flat as a result of that. The developing of relationships didn't really feel organic and the terrorists were depicted as relatively sympathetic from the beginning.However, where the books really falls flat is its female characters. The reader is constantly informed how both Carmen and Roxanne are the most beautiful, smartest, most talented women to ever exist. Every scene staring either of them is filled with male characters perseverating on their beauty. Neither of them have any flaws at all (except maybe an endearing stubbornness.) Roxanne is so beautiful as to sway terrorist organizations. Both of them feel extremely one-dimensional as a result. Music is treated the same way – it's beautiful and uplifting and world changing. We're never really told why, but instead subjected to the same refrain in every musical scene. As someone who could take or leave music as a whole, and definitely opera in specific, it was teeth-gratingly annoying.
I read this book mostly at work, which was actually perfect considering it deals with hostages trying to make it through the minutes-hours-days with very little to occupy their time. A very subtle book that is all about quiet anticipation. I thought it was wonderful.
