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 World
New 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 crisis
Somewhere in South … learn to communicate across cultural barriers in times of crisis
Somewhere 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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One of my favorites!
Beautiful story,
Mesmerizing!!!!!!!!!!!
Loved it. I added it to my list of Ann Patchett winners. A group of people find themselves as hostages. In a foreign embassy. Interesting people dealing with an unexpected and frightening experience. One of Patchett’s best.
I have to say, this book left me conflicted— in a way, people can only hope for in a book. As I flipped page after page, I couldn’t make up my mind who I was rooting for and how I wanted the story to end. Upon finishing the masterpiece that is Bel Canto, I was crushed, yet also at ease. Ann Patchett created a wondrous world that ruined me like no …
When I learned the subject of Bel Canto, I certainly did not expect to laugh…..but I nearly split my sides several times. Patchett’s telling of what is basically a tragic story delighted me in many ways. I am going to recommend this to my book club with the suggestion that we each pick out lines that especially appeal to us. There are some …
I read a lot of literary fiction, and I count this novel by Ann Patchett to be one of my lifetime best. Just writing about it now reminds me that it is time for me to re-read it. The idea for the book stems from an event in a South American country on which it is loosely based. It explores the lives of the principal characters in an enchanting …
Whether you are passionate about opera like I am or never been to an opera in your life, this book will grab you with wonderful descriptions, interesting characters great writing, and an action-packed plot.
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Peter Bernhardt, Author: The Stasi File, 2011 ABNA Quarter Finalist; Kiss of the Shaman’s Daughter [sequel]; Red …
Though this book was popular with a lot of people, for me it was just okay. Though I know it is fiction, it was still somewhat unbelievable & dragged for me in places, being repetitive. Can’t recommend.
A truly fabulous book. The characters are rich and well-developed and the way the plot and relationships unfold are exceptional.
I loved this book! So rich in feeling and sensory pleasure that I could almost hear the singing. A real treasure.
Essentially the story is a modern opera. The epilogue is a misstep, however.
This is one of the best books I have read.
The reader gets wrapped up in the world the book is presenting. My daughter loved it and encouraged me to read it. I couldn’t put it down.
Intelligent