Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Books I have ever read
Review: I loved this book. I just finished it today and although, as many people have pointed out, the ending leaves one puzzled and unfulfilled, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. I would recommend it to everyone. The author writes an intriguing tale that draws the reader into world of the book. Each character is amazingly real, full of beauty and truth. This book is about so much more than opera; it is about art, humanity and self. It is one of the best books I have every read. A lovely and touching novel.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely Start to Finish
Review: In this book, Patchett creates a beautiful microcosm, a world outside the world, in which all that is best about human beings flourishes. Even as the complex network of friendship and loyalty and affection and love is woven, the reader knows that it cannot survive. Like the hostages themselves, we get barely a glimpse of what is happening outside the mansion where the hostages are held captive, yet we know plans must be underway for a "rescue" (despite the fact that most of the hostages no longer want to be rescued).It takes just three and a half pages to bring the whole lovely world down. It's brilliantly done, especially the epilogue, which is so accurate about how these terrible things happen and, unbelievably, luckily or horrifically (I'm not sure which), the world goes on. Even the survivors are nudged on to other things, even on to other loves. Unlike others who've written here, I think the epilogue, with its necessary letdown, is perfect. The dream world created by the hostages and terrorists, and held together by opera, cannot be sustained, yet it hints at the possibility of transcendence, even if it has to be momentary.
At the end, one of the survivors says (about the opera singer): "When I hear Roxane sing I am still able to think well of the world....This is a world in which someone could have written such music,a world in which she can still sing that music with so much compassion. That's proof of something, isn't it?" Yes, I think it is.
Rating: 
Summary: Repeat After Me: Repetition, Repetition, Repetition
Review: I thought at first I had a wonderful book, a blend of lyricism, love of music, and romance. Then the absurd happened. The plot plodded along. I felt bludgeoned by the repetition of everything in chapter after chapter. Uggh. Life is too short to read this stuff. If you want something in a whole different class and a hundred times better, read "An Equal Music," by Vikram Seth.
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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.
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