Rating: 
Summary: When Life imitates Art...
Review: As art imitates life, so would a group of strangers enjoy the bounty and joyful camaraderie of the most simple activities. An assortment of dignitaries, most unknown to eachother, gather for a birthday celebration in an unnamed South American country, in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a Japanese CEO. For his entertainment, the hosts have imported an extraordinary opera diva, his favorite soprano, Roxanne Coss. Her performance stuns the audience, the power and beauty of her voice astonishing. The lights go out. When they come back on, life has changed forever for these people, as the partygoers are taken hostage by a small, ragtag band of insurrectionists. The real target of the attack, the country's President, has not attended the party. Thrown into indecision, the soldiers are instructed to take the guests hostage. Unsure of their future, hostages and captives settle in, and the vivid edges of violence slowly recede as boundaries become blurred and differences are muted.Suddenly the captives have a renewed awareness of the value of each day, each moment; they become aware, as well, of the humanity of their captors, dressed in raggedy uniforms with duct-taped combat boots, all abandoning fear for curiosity. Eventually all the women are released, save one, the soprano with the voice that lifts them all into the rarified art of true genius. Her greatest fan, Mr. Hosokawa, is gratified to remain a prisoner alongside the singer, and his multi-languaged intrepretor, Gen, is drafted as translator for the multi-cultural group's communications. In spite of the language difficulties, all these strangers, thrown together by fate, live in intimate proximity for months, developing their own particular society with its concessions and rules of deportment. Surprisingly, captors and captives exist in unexpected harmony as life becomes simple. Patchett takes this melange of personalities and cultures and handles them with unexpected grace, allowing each their very human foibles and eccentricities. It is easy to imagine living in this suspended world, before it all comes to an end. But not before the unlikely become lovers, the unconventional become cronies, and the bonds of friendship and compassion criss-cross through the hearts of strangers, brushing each with the essence of mankind.
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Summary: Beyond beautiful...
Review: This has got to be one of the greatest books about the ability of Art (in this case, opera) to transcend hardship and despair. In fact, there is a scene halfway through the book (a phone call between a priest and a music teacher) that is one of the most moving I have ever read in any piece of fiction. There is more about the human condition and Man's need for artistic sustenance in those few pages than in most complete works of literature. Brava Ms. Patchett, you have written a book I will long remember, and reread many times. Exquisite. An absolute MUST for any opera lover.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking, heartbreaking, magical
Review: Towards end of this book one of the "generals," who have held a group of diplomats and businessmen captive for several months, says (paraphrasing), "Isn't it a wonder all the beautiful things we could have become if only we knew how?" That's what this story is about: learning how to become what you really are. Patchett illustrates this so beautifully in each of her characters. Each is lovingly drawn whether its the young terrorist who discovers a hidden talent for opera or the Japanese businessman who finds a love he didn't even know he was looking for. The reader (or listener) becomes so involved in the lives of these people that much like the captors and captives, we don't want this idyll to end. Unlike other reviewers here I thought the ending made complete sense in the context of the story. Anna Fields does a fabulous job of narration. Her sardonic tone was just right and the voices of the various characters were superb. This is easily one of the best books I've ever listened to.
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Summary: Delightful imagined and romantic
Review: I went into this book with low expectations. From the back cover, I was imagining it as something from Oprah's book club. Hence I was pleasantly surprised to discover a beautifully written romantic fantasy. I am always skeptical of books that rely on characters who have a god-like talent (such as singing) that cannot be described in words. It seems like an excuse for lazy Deus-ex-machina plot twists. Ms. Patchett largely avoids this temptation, and before long you are drawn into her unlikely world. This is a short book that is easy to read - perfect for the beach or the plane. After reading it, I want to investigate the author's other works. Note: some other reviewers have complained about the ending and epilogue. Personally, I found it very fitting. The author tells us in the first three pages how it ends, and I found this admission to provide a certain balance to the fantasy world that follows. The book is all about how circumstances can conspire to create a magical moment outside of time. What happens after that moment ends is not very relevant. The bubble has burst, the song is over.
Rating: 
Summary: Reminiscent of A Disaster Movie
Review: Ann Patchett writes beautifully, and the subject matter of "Bel Canto" is very intriguing, but all through the book I kept recalling the "disaster" movies and books that were so popular in the 1970s ("Airport," "Poseidon Adventure," "Blizzard," etc.). The focus of "Bel Canto" is on the relationships that form between captors and hostages, and in many instances the multiplying layers and surprise turns are interesting and plausible. As in the popular "disaster" works of the 1970s, however, character response to strain becomes a plot in and of itself, which invariably leads to saccharine subplots centering on romance and heroic sacrifice. To its credit, I think, is that even while the resolution is obvious and foregone almost from the first chapter, Patchett's style is so polished and effective that it kept me reading. From that perspective it certainly deserves style points, and that may be why it was a finalist for so many book awards. But I could never get away from the sense that I was reading a screenplay for a disaster movie revival, and I personally found the epilogue hard to swallow. No doubt many would find some logic and symmetry to the epilogue, and it will be great fodder for reading circles, but for me it was a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: thoughtful novel
Review: Bel Canto is a lovely, graceful novel of the innocence and idealism of war, youth, music and love. Patchett reminds us that wars are fought by children and for good, true reasons. She simplifies war to these basic truths. She reminds us that humanity may be separated by language, culture, class, and experience, but that people are not so different after these dividers are lifted. Bel Canto is a melancholic story in which all characters are sympathetic, or at least dismissable. There are no villains, only some who are less worldly than others. Patchett's writing is gracious yet unobtrusive. She ingratiates herself into the reader's mind and the reader forgets that she is reading.
Rating:
Summary: original and gripping
Review: This was one of my favorite books of the year. It's hard to fit into a genre: part suspense novel, part magic realism novel, part character study, it unfolds the story of a group of hostages and how their relationships form under duress. United by the musical leit motif, we watch as the characters are transformed through an almost magical attraction to opera music. My personal favorite of the memorable characters was Gen, the adept translator who finally finds his own voice. His relationship wtih his employer and how he breaks free for me was one of the most interesting parts of the novel. I can't think of a novel I've read recently with such an innovative and unusual plot. And unlike other novels I've read, the magic realism element never gets too heavy handed. In short, a terrific read.
Rating:
Summary: 99% good; 50% Missing; 1% bad
Review: 99% Good (Based on 313 of 317 pages)
Ann Patchett is a truly gifted writer. She is masterful at creating a sense of place and developing characters. She has woven a beautiful story that explores heroism, faith, trust, forgiveness and human potential. I wouldn't really say there's a strong plot line ... it's much more character driven. The essential plot is played out in the first few pages: multinational visitors and an opera diva (who's there to entertain) attend a birthday party for a Japanese business mogul at the home of a vice president of an unknown South American country. They are taken hostage by a group seeking freedom for political prisoners. The whole book -- minus the Epilogue -- occurs over the two months (more?) that the group is held hostage in this palatial home. The rest of the book deals very little with the efforts to free the hostages and very much with the terrorists and hostages. Throughout the pages, you get to know the characters -- their fears, their hopes, their hidden agenda and hidden talents. It's truly captivating and well worth the read. At the end of 313 pages, and before reading the last four pages, I had told dozens of friends about the book and suggested they read it. If you choose this book for a Reading Club, I would certainly recommend exploring who you think the hero(es) of the story are and why. 50% Missing and 1% Bad:
Perhaps it's because of what's missing that Ms. Patchett decided to add the four-page epilogue. She, like those of us who have read the book, must have wanted to know what happened to the characters after the hostage situation was resolved. I yearned to find out if dreams were fulfilled, if new-found talents were utilized, if love inside a snow globe would survive when the protective glass was broken. She could easily have written another 313 pages as "Book Two." I really wanted so much more. But that's not what is offered. As I read the last four pages, I felt as though I had been slapped in the face. I was physically and, most certainly emotionally and intellectually, jarred. There are certainly theories that could be posed as to why she chose the epilogue she did, but none of those theories were supported in the story itself to lead to such a conclusion. It has stuck with me in the many days since finishing the book. The epilogue quite literally ruined the book for me. I quickly called all the people I could remember telling about the book and told them to forget it. It's such a shame. It had such potential.
Rating:
Summary: This book sings!
Review: I was mesmerized by this novel. I couldn't put it down. I don't know why I'm not giving it 5 stars. The writing reminds me of Joan Didion, for whom I have no higher praise. It is creative, novel, magical. I felt I was in an opera (and I don't usually like opera) but here the words and the characters caught me like opera doesn't. It has stayed with me after reading it; it's different, delightful, and utterly enchanting. The ending was a bit of a letdown but the rest of the book made it all worthwhile. I completely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Hit Over the Head
Review: I was relieved to find out that other readers had similar reactions to this silly book since it got such positive play in the press. Patchett does have a gentle and readable narrative style, but I became bored with repetitious descriptions of Roxane's towering talent and Mr. Hosokawa's self-deprecation. (A side note: Someone should inform the publisher's back cover copywriter that "Roxane" is spelled with one, not two n's.)
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