Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, Captivating Read
Review: In Bel Canto, Ann Patchett's lyrical and haunting prose is perfectly tuned to her impossibly romantic tale. The title, literally translated "beautiful singing", refers to a specific kind of operatic singing, and certainly opera and music play a significant role in the novel. Because of that, a familiarity with opera must add to a reader's enjoyment of the book, but it's not at all necessary. (I am not fond of opera, but I liked this book.) Personally, I think Patchett gives too much credence to music's power to soothe the savage breast, but I can't prove it, so I'm willing to give her some poetic license. This is, more specifically, a tale of relationships forged within an artificial environment that starts out as harsh and turns idyllic. Patchett revels in her characters' thoughts and feelings rather than in their actions, so the pace is slow, with an almost dreamlike quality that is carried right through to the end of the book. As for the epilogue, I liked it very much. Far from being surprised or disappointed by it, I felt it to be the only possible resolution. Perhaps I'm giving Ann Patchett too much credit, but I find it utterly impossible to believe that she would call her heroine something as unusual as Roxanne without a specific purpose. The name recalls another heroine whose true love's words were spoken to her by another, and I found the resonance delightful. So, if you're a lover of poetry and classical romance, give this one a try.
Rating: 
Summary: Are you all in another dimension? This book was terrible!
Review: I was completely disappointed. The unlikeliness of the hostage situation, the sheer boredom of the novel until at least page 200 and then the hideous ending...Truly not worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Terrorist Utopia
Review: You'll read Bel Canto and get caught up in the development of some unusual and captivating relationships all with a sense of doom. A hostage taking just can not end well but you'll find yourself praying that it will. In some third world South American country guerillas have taken over the Vice President's home and end up keeping 60+ V.I.P.'s and one internationally famous soprano hostage for four months. Incredibly, they begin to build a routine that becomes almost utopian for some of the terrorists and hostages alike. Patchett took her inspiration from the real hostage taking at the Japanese Embassy in Peru six years ago which also lasted about four months. I like her interpretation that human beings will try to make a sense of home wherever they are if they are there long enough and I wish I could find out more about what the experience was for the real hostages. Bel Canto is not great literature but it is a compelling read, I recommend it highly as a book club read.
Rating:
Summary: nothing special, nothing new
Review: Maybe I shouldn't be so critical; I definitely started reading this book with high expectations. But seeing as the book received the PEN/Faulkner Awards, Orange Award, etc. I think my expectations were reasonable. In favor of the book, it *is* reasonably compelling; I really wanted to see how it ended, and I did finish it. It was a quick, rather interesting, mostly well-written read. But in criticism... the theme(s) are really overdone and unsophisticated/simplistic, the ending and many occurances in the story unremarkable and predictable, and at the same time, at times, some occurances are quite unbelievable. There are also some gross spelling/editing mistakes that I found rather shocking... aspects of the novel were doubtlessly painstakingly researched by Patchett, but in my opinion, that doesn't make her a brilliant writer (and it certainly doesn't mean she has a good editor). Also, perhaps most importantly, I could NOT shake the feeling that this book was written with mainly film aspirations in mind... I'd bet that it IS going to be made into a film in the next few years; will be seen as appropriate in the current post-9/11 climate, where the idea that peace, love and understanding can be found even between individuals caught in a hostage situation will be intriguing to the general populace. (These are good ideas mind you, but someone else can illustrate them with more depth, feeling and subtlety.) I couldn't stop thinking, as I read this book, that Patchett wrote it with "MOVIE" = big bucks in mind. Found that sad; in my opinion, if you want to do a movie, write a screenplay, and save the bookwriting to the people who want to write books, and can do it well.
Right after I finished Bel Canto, I kept trying to think of a friend/relative who might enjoy this book, because it isn't exactly a BAD book, I supposed, and maybe someone might find the easy, compelling read to be...uh, easy and complelling. But with overdone themes, contrived characters, and a mostly unbelievable plot (which is at times, as noted, is incredibly predictable), I decided that the reason I couldn't think of anyone who might want to read it is because I didn't know anyone who would actually like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good beginning come to a bad end...
Review: I didn't read this book, I devoured it. I did notice the grammatical impenetrability of some of the prose - perhaps I was just being kind but I attributed that to the writer's desire to make the style somewhat breathless, even as the events she was describing could get to be. I fell for the whole thing, hook, line and sinker. I loved these people. I wanted them to be okay. I found the story engaging, the soprano indomitable (aren't we all?), and the music handled perfectly. That's where the bad end part comes in. After some two hundred pages of build-up, during which we begin to feel like we know these characters, the ending is bundled up and off-stage in about four pages, leaving me feeling a little like I got the bum's rush. I just wanted MORE...I was left entirely unsatisfied by the author's uncomprising butchery of the terrorists, along with perhaps the best-loved of the hostages. I was left more than unsatisfied by her refusal to follow up on ANY of the others except Gen, Roxane, and Simon. And I was utterly mystified by the marriage of Gen and Roxane; it just made no sense to me at all, partly because I was given no context for it. So I do recommend this because there is much to love - but prepare to be disappointed in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointing waste of time
Review: This is one of the those books that makes you mad you wasted your time on it. I can't imagine why anyone thinks this is good literature? It could have been a very interesting story, but you come out knowing little more about the characters than their "base" descriptions which you painfully hear over and over and over again. My book was actually missing 16 pages (not sure why) but I read on expecting that not much would change. And it didn't. I just had the advantage of missing another 16 pages of fluff. How could this book win awards?
Rating:
Summary: Ahh...The Power of Music
Review: there are moments while one is in the midst of reading this wonders to themselves how it is that these very different chararacters come together & fall in love. The author has taken the most unlikely women & men and had them fall deeply for each other against the background of unspeakable depravitiy. As one reads the story & continues to wonder why, the author does reveal to the reader not with words but with her thoughts that what she describes as love goes above & beyond what we everyday humans can ever imagine. In Bel Canto love is the ability to feel safe with another person (even if the thoughts of safty are an illusion) & for two people to be together (even if they don't speak the same language); to know that they can feel each other through music. This is a novel of how music touches our souls; & therefore our hearts as well. A worthy read for those who can only imagine the unimaginable....
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Bel Canto is a beautiful novel. At the explosive beginning you are introduced to the characters, all of whom you begin to care for. After the terrorists take control of the mansion and the party guests within it, the book's beauty begins to show. For most of the book, it is as if time has stopped. Real world cares do not matter anymore. Life is lived, and that is it. Highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: A Fantasy, a World Created
Review: I can see the point of some critics who disliked the book. I was also surprised that it was "lighter" than I had thought given all the accolades, hype and awards. The characters are drawn lightly, humorously; quirky little vignettes about their past like John Irving's _The World According to Garp_ i.e. the president who is addicted to soap opera, the accompanist who is in love with the singer, etc. But to be fair, I think for the average reader out there, it is an enjoyable and engaging book to read. And if you allow yourslef to be swept away by it, it's a delightful romance of art and life. Patchett weaves a fantasy, a world of her own. There might not be anything very heavy, profound in the vein of THIS IS SERIOUS LITERATURE, but Patchett successfully, in my opinion, has created a world and I found myself drawn into it. Taking a step back, I can see how others don't want to get into the surreal, unrealistic and implausible aspects of it. Though inspired by a real event, the entire premise--terrorist-hostage relations in a South American country at the home of the vice-president--kinds asks you to read sympathetically with the drama. I kind of viewed it as a delightful little soap opera; take it for a spin.
Rating:
Summary: An uneven read
Review: There were great portions in this book, but it wobbles to the finish line and collapses short of the tape. There are portions that are unreadable and the sentences are poorly designed with dangling participles strewn about. I was surprised at how poorly edited the book was. It read like a rush job that was patched together piecemeal so it could get out on time. Perhaps there will ultimately be a better edition edited. The storyline is an unoriginal newscast, but that could've been interesting as well if it took us inside this dramatic event from an interesting viewpoint--it didn't.
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