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.)
Rating:
Summary: A Community in an unlikely place
Review: Imagine watching a remake of the hostage classic "Dog Day Afternoon" by the filmaking team Merchant/Ivory. "Bel Canto" presents a story which is at times a taut hostage drama, and at others an insighful meditation about community, love, and other forms of human relations. Maybe some of the plot twist are farfetched, maybe the narrative slows to a crawl for a short-time before the emotional and action-packed finale. However, the characters have plenty of depth, the romantic sub-plots are moving, and all details are charmingly observed.
Rating: 
Summary: Humor, Suspense & Dread
Review: This delightful novel narrates a tale of a long-term hostage situation. In a remote unnamed South American country, a world famous diva, Roxane Coss, is engaged to sing six arias (for a huge fee) in honor of fabulously rich Japanese industrialist, Mr. Hosokawa's birthday. He is known to be an avid aficionado of 1) opera and 2) Miss Coss. The host country is desperately hoping Mr. Hosokawa will build a factory that will bolster their failing economy. Miss Coss sings the last bell-like note of her final song and-eighteen revolutionaries swarm out of the air conditioning ducts. There would be no story if the President had been present as he was supposed to be, but he would not give up his favorite soap opera that showed on Tuesday nights in this land that was without VCRs. The plan was to snatch the president, spirit him away and negotiate the freedom of imprisoned revolutionaries. Now what? The revolutionaries now have 191 hostages they don't want and don't have a good idea what to do with them. Their first order is for everyone to lay down face up, perhaps not realizing that 191 people take up a lot more room laying down than standing up. The terrorists are discomfited to see the cosmopolitan guests in all their formal finery spreading out from the ballroom, to the dining room, entryways, and alcoves. The hostages who one would think felt extremely vulnerable in their exposed states, actually "experienced the relief of resignation." The character studies are unforgettable. The kindly, tiny little Vice President, General Benjamin with a horrible case of shingles on his face, Gen the translator who wonders if he is anything beyond a marvelous aptitude for languages; Roxane the total diva with a wide streak of practicality; the soldiers, most of whom are little more than children, Mr. Messner the reluctant Swiss negotiator and surprisingly dreamy Mr. Hosokawa. The author achieves suspense of the highest order by the fine assimilation of her characters and their situation. Our minds scream with alarm bells of "this cannot last!" The friendships, kindliness and synchronicity must shatter. The more they adapt, find friendships and happiness; the more I was certain something terrible would happen. I note that some reviewers are very critical of the "ending." I was bemused by the "epilogue," but the ending was no more extreme than I expected and beautifully written. This is a highly readable book with characters who will remain etched in your mind. "Bel Canto" is a great reading experience for a wide audience.
Rating:
Summary: The ending kills the story
Review: I did not expect this book to be completely realistic and I enjoyed the magical realism interpersed in it. However, I feel that underneath the whole kidnapping ordeal was even a deeper story that was going to come out at any moment. What a wasted potential! The book stays pretty much at a superfluous level most of the time. It almost insults an adult's intelligence. It had so much potential but the author never took the time to dig deep and thus delivered a poorly developed story. It was a light, summer read until the end. It was really dissapointing and did not make any sense given the events. This is the major flaw of the book-- the author did not set the stage, even subtlely for the ridiculous ending.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Waste
Review: Ms. Patchett has an obvious gift for writing. What a shame to waste her talent on such a preposterous premise as put forth in Bel Canto. This plot might fly on the big screen with the help of technicolor and surroundsound to overwhelm our sense with our senses. My willing suspension of disbelief, however, took a nose dive in chapter six and was not able to recover from the tailspin. Out of respect for the author I finished reading her novel, but it was a struggle, indeed.
Rating:
Summary: At the end...
Review: It is a rare thing to read a book, particularly in the wake of recent tragedies, and find yourself empathizing with the terrorists. I found myself doing this after reading Bel Canto, and if I can say one thing about this book, it succeeded in making me think. This is not to say that it glamorizes or supports terrorism. Far from it. But it provides a glimpse into the hopes and fears of all of the parties involved, including the hostages, the terrorists, and the peacekeepers. But at no point did I feel like Patchett was trying to sway my opinion in a certain direction, to get me to support or condemn the terrorists. I've been strongly recommending this book to family and friends for this reason, for the opportunity to explore their own feelings about terrorism and the people who perpetuate it. Unfortunately, I agree that the ending to the book felt tacked on and unrealistic. I've found that to be the case with all of Patchett's books that I've read, where the ending doesn't seem to be justified given the rest of the story. But Bel Canto is worth the time regardless of the ending.
Rating: 
Summary: What a cop out!
Review: I have loved all of Ann Patchett's books so I was ecstatic when I saw this one at the bookstore last year. I settled myself in for a weekend of delicate prose full of bittersweet images and unbreakable characters. And that's exactly what I got until the last ten pages. Then it turned into a manure pit. Do yourself a favor when reading this one...don't read the last scene. It's unnecessary and reads like a completely different author's work. I wasn't expecting a Cinderella style ending but I did expect more somehow. If you want to read a really great book by Ms. Patchett get yourself a copy of Taft. Those characters have stayed with me to this day. It's brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing, lyrical, improbable, flawed
Review: In this PEN/Faulker award winning novel, Ann Patchett has created an intriguing and poetic tale based (loosely) on a real hostage taking episode that occurred in Peru in April 1997. *Bel Canto* succeeds in revealing the common humanity that persists behind the oppositional roles and stances shaped by social and political structures beyond our individual control. In these times of wars on terrorism and terrorist wars, this story emphasizes that even the most superficially frightening political fanatics ultimately are human beings with personalities, hopes, dreams, and reasons why, and for that reason alone the novel is well worth reading. In terms of style and texture, Patchett has endeavored to compose a work that is lyrical and "magical," and she largely succeeds in creating an ethereal, dreamlike mood throughout. As such, however, the degree to which readers ultimately will embrace the novel depends upon their willingness to engage in a "willing suspension of disbelief." Those possessed of any significant degree of skepticism regarding the actual nature of political struggle, small group social psychology, and human behavior generally will find much about which to be dubious, beginning with the notion that ALL of the guerrillas would be mesmerized by Roxanne Coss' operatic singing. They also will look askance at the romantic interludes portrayed here, including the prospect of romance between a superstar American singer and a staid Japanese businessman. Furthermore, the lack of substantive political content is striking and to me, disappointing. It would seem that a lengthy confrontation between desperate rural guerrillas and cosmopolitan luminaries would reveal more insights regarding the social and economic bases for radical grassroots rebellion (and ruling class repression) than Patchett offers here. I must also join the chorus of voices rising in protest against the tacked-on ending, which is just plain horrible. Despite these flaws, this book is a well-crafted and thoughtful work that once started is hard to put down.
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