Rating: 
Summary: An allegory for our time
Review: When a hostage taking situation develops at a party held in the vice president's home in an unnamed South American country (based on a real life event in 1996 in Peru), and featuring a world famous opera singer, the hostages and those being held are forced to re-evaluate the meaning of life, as each side meets the unknown element in the other, including the fact that there are people from multiple cultures speaking several different languages. Love and music, the bel canto, become the primary life sustaining forces, the common denominators. Although lighthearted in tone, there is an undercurrent which tells you that this unexpectedly idyllic cocoon cannot last. A clever and original work of magical realism that will also make the reader take stock.
Rating: 
Summary: a deeply satisfying book
Review: I was drawn to the title, to the situation involving an opera singer and a lover of opera, but I probably expected this to be something like a murder mystery. I was prepared to read a bit and then, ho-hum, return it to the library. But the book embraced my interest, a book about loving, about loving music, and the appreciation people feel, when they have time to feel about other people, about music and its power to open your heart. I knew that the ending would be like the real-life ending (I remember the Peruvian occupation in l995? of the Japanese ambassador's home, its lengthy hold-out, its sudden bloody demise), so I just became intensely interested in how people used this time given them at the moment. In this regard, the author delved into each person's emotional life, creating unbearably beautiful arias in which people revealed their deepest longings in this moving operatic tale. Everything stood still for the operatic drama, and then it all ended, the curtain came down. What might have been never came to pass. I loved reading this book, I loved the writing, such as "To tell something to Carmen was to have it sewn forever into the silky folds of her brain", or "He had the soul of a machine and was only capable of motion when someone else turned the key", or "What she prayed for was nothing - that God would see the beauty of their existence and leave them alone", or "Every morning he unfolded his voice before them like a rare jeweled fan", etc. This is a deeply satisfying book, about a great subject - music.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed by the Ending
Review: Well, I'd give the ending away if I knew that it would keep other people from being frustrated by this book ;) Yes, the writing is beautiful--I won't dispute that--but my gosh, what a letdown. There's a sense of impending doom, of beauty that can't last, of true love that develops in the midst of crisis--but the end is unfulfilling and cold --almost cynical.
Rating:
Summary: Exquisite Read --THE Book of this Summer
Review: I lost a great deal of sleep the last two nights simply because I could not put down this marvelously wonderful book. It is my first experience with a novel by Ann Patchett and I look forward to reading some of her earlier books. It is quite intense and breathtakingly involving as you anticpate the inevitable outcome of the hostage situation. My only criticism, and that has been the case with several other books I have read recently, was the conclusion which I found a bit unsatisfying....and would be interested in other impressions of what was, I felt, an unnecessary "tieing up of things" in the fashion of an epilogue...but overall --an immensely pleasureable reading experience and a book that I plan to recommend to everyone!.
Rating:
Summary: Singing prose
Review: I found Bel Canto to be un-put-downable. As a trained opera singer, I've often wondered how to make writing about music compelling; Ms. Patchett's work is the answer. The prose is exquiste, and she doesn't skimp on plot; I was in suspense until the last delicious page.
Rating:
Summary: Bravo!
Review: This book deserves a standing ovation! I love the characters, the story and the beauty of the words! Ann Patchett has a new fan, my next read will be one of her books. This book will delight anyone who loves the written word.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Song
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful singing indeed
Review: Why read this book? If you love classical music, you will be drawn to its cover and title. If you read the first chapters, you will be captured by the sensuous atmosphere of a private recital and the unspoken passion of a man who is devoted to music and to a particular soprano. As the recital turns into a hostage-taking drama, you will empathize with characters on all sides who must find the strength within themselves to cope during this prolonged isolation, with its probably fatal consequences. There is no false note in this elegant writing, from its lyrical beginning to its elegiac conclusion. Brava!
Rating:
Summary: A lyrical aria
Review: Such a beautiful book. Written with all the skill of an Italian aria, I found myself reading every single word like the life of the story depended on it. And it does. There is not a wasted word in this book. And each one is specifically chosen to speak volumes. Patchett takes a common premise, various sundry folk brought together by circumstances beyond their control, and forms a small peaceful society. But where other authors have failed at this theme, Patchett succeeds. Soon, people stop considering what side they're on, and which country they reside in, and turn toward the common interest of the party at hand. The characters are so magically written, that we feel we know them as regular people -- not just types. Read this book before it's made into a movie. A film of this would ruin the beauty of the language, and the lovely phrasing and fluidity of words would be lost.
Rating: 
Summary: not worth my time
Review: i truly loved The Magician's Assistant. i was,however,totally disappointed by Bel Canto. I found it to be so slow and found that i really didn't care what happened by the end of the book because i didn't care about the characters. sorry!
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