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Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
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Bel Canto

by Ann Patchett

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5,799170295 (3.95)197

Member recommendations

  1. wisewoman recommends The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, "In both books, music is a character in its own right, set against a backdrop of human violence and tragedy."
  2. the_awesome_opossum recommends Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, "Both novels are about human connections formed in the face of unusual crises. Very competent and well-written, both books had much the same vibe about (see more) them"
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English (166)  German (3)  Korean (1)  All languages (170)
Showing 1-5 of 166 (next | show all)
Absorbing description of a group of hostages and the developments of their relationships as their captivity continues. ( )
  mandahill | Nov 12, 2009 |
Good, but not as good as The Magician's assistant. It's a great love story, but I think it falls down at the end, laving me sad that the couples did not get closure. Well, some did in a terminal way. I don't think Gen should have married Roxanne. Carmel was too nice. ( )
  EricPMagnuson | Nov 11, 2009 |
Very good
  carladp | Nov 11, 2009 |
More interesting once the book was finished; book club pick BTS ( )
  pharrm | Nov 5, 2009 |
Haven't read a novel for awhile and found this to be suprisingly good - almost a black comedy - you always know the outcome won't be good, but it was engaging enough to want to go to bed or sprawl on the couch to read how the hostages and terrorists were getting on together! ( )
  siri51 | Nov 2, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 166 (next | show all)
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Series (with order)
Canonical Title
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Awards and honors
Epigraph
Fonti e colline chiesi agli Dei; m 'udiro alfine, pago io vovro, ne mai quel fonte co 'desir miei, ne mai quel monte trapassero
"I asked the Gods for hills and springs; They listened to me at last. I shall live contented. And I shall never desire to go beyond that spring, nor shall I desire to cross that mountain."
--Sei Ariette I: Malinconia, ninfa gentil, Vincenzo Bellini
Sprecher: Ihr Fremdlinge! was sucht oder fordert ihn von uns?
Tamino: Freundschaft und Liebe.
Sprecher: Bist du bereit, es mit deinem Leben zu erkämpfen?
Tamino: Ja.

Speaker: Stranger, what do you seek or ask from us?
Tamino: Friendship and love.
Speaker: And are you prepared even if it costs you your life?
Tamino: I am.
--The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dedication
For Karl VanDevender
First words
When the lights went off the accompanist kissed her.
Quotations
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Canonical titleBel Canto
Original publication date2001 (copyright)
People/CharactersRoxane Coss, Katsumi Hosokawa, Carmen, Gen Watanabe
Awards and honorsOrange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2002), PEN/Faulkner Award (2002), International IMPAC Dublin (Shortlist, 2003), National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (Fiction, 2001), Book Sense Book of the Year (2003.2 | Paperback Winner, 2003), Salon Book Award (Fiction, 2001)
EpigraphFonti e colline chiesi agli Dei; m 'udiro alfine, pago io vovro, ne mai quel fonte co 'desir miei, ne mai quel monte trapassero "I asked the Gods for hills and springs; They listened to me at last. I shall live contented. And... (show all)
DedicationFor Karl VanDevender
First wordsWhen the lights went off the accompanist kissed her.
Last words(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
BlurbersBell, Madison Smartt, Moss, Lloyd
Book description

Amazon.com Amazon.com's Best of 2001 (ISBN 0060838728, Paperback)

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

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:55 -0400)

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