Rating: 
Summary: Bel [Whato]
Review: I'm sorry, but I am a serious reader of good books and this is definately not one of them. [...] it is shameless to trick people into thinking this is literature because it has opera as its backdrop. This is not literature; but rather a long version of a predictable hollywood movie script, complete with overly-dramatized characters and a ridiculous plot. While I do admit that basing a novel on a hostage scene in South America is a somewhat exciting idea, the actual plot is ludicrous. Opera-loving jungle terrorists! A country's president who skips an important dinner to watch his favorite TV show......gimme a break Ann Patchett! The writing is technically fine and there are some mildly interesting characters, but the plot is so unbeleivable it makes the book utterly unenjoyable. If your idea of art & creativity is daytime soap operas and cheesy made-for-TV movies, then you will probably like this work. If you are seeker of good literature, then don't waste your time on this silly book.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivity lead to love
Review: If you are interested in this book you are probably already aware of the plot - group of people taken hostage in a South American country after they come together for a dinner and performance by an American soprano. In the hands of many other writers, this could have been written (badly) as a hostage drama/action/thriller. Luckily, it was written by Pratchett, and instead is a wonderful exploration of the human condition. While it is billed as a romance (and there is some romance in it) what I thought it most focused on was how people are formed by their surroundings. All of the characters in the book are taken out of their familiar surroundings and this changes them - among the examples is the vice-president who becomes the concierge/maitre de of his own home which is being used as a prison for the hostages; beautiful Carmen, who outside the jungle living in luxury has a chance to develop her keen intelligence; Kato, the vice-president to the guest of honour at the dinner - known only for his business position and ability with numbers, he is revealed as a professional-level pianist, which soon elevates him to a position of importance.
While this is not quite 'literary fiction', it is not a pulpy read either. It is an easy read, and all the better for it. I think this would be perfect holiday reading for anyone who is looking for an interesting diversion that has a fascinating situation and characters that you can really care for.
I have not read Ann Patchett before, but on the basis of this book I will be looking for her work in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: Initially, I didn't know if I was in a bad mood or this really is one of the silliest novels ever written. In retrospect, I know the latter was true. I am an opera and music lover but I found it precious and preposterous. The "terrorists" seem to let these people act on their own and treat the diva as a goddess as if they are benign captors. Perhaps the events of 911 make the entire premise unbelieveable but I suspect I would have the same reaction prior to this event. Terrorists have no interest in music, art, and singers; they are not sensitive, cultivated, or civilized, as these laissez-faire terrorists are in the book. I know people who have been held captive by terrorists and it wasn't the "party" this author depicts for the reader. I was aghast at the silliness and pretension of it all, and sexual interaction is the last thing on people's minds in a real situation like this (consider the passengers on one of the flights that crashed into the WTC towers on 911 thinking of liasions, and you get an idea of the absurdity of this "story"). Everyone here acts as he is in a Proustian salon (except for the VP's butting to the head with a rifle at the beginning) and they seem to easily and gladly forget their past lives because they are having such a wonderful time. I cannot muster one star for this book but had to cast one in order to post; I am angry at being conned into thinking this great literature and significant because it touches the world of opera. Read Franzen if you want a look at reality and literature. I wouldn't even give away this book because it would constitute an endorsement. Shame on those who publicize it as literature. It's closer to the junk romance paperbacks, which isn't my idea of good reading. I threw my copy in the garbage after reading because I hoped to the end one word or thought would transform what went before it. If this is an "aria," I wonder what composers that writer has listened to?
Rating: 
Summary: I have 2 "X" chromosomes and still didn't like it . . .
Review: I purchased this (book) at a non-profit org's book sale. I thought I was getting such a deal for a book that was being called one of the best of the summer. But no. Most important to note, this book was, stylistically, horribly written. If you enjoy having the obvious stated to you over and over (and over) again, please read it. However, if you don't need your hand held for 300 pages, find something else. I almost felt like I was being patronized. An editor would have helped. In addition, the improbability of the entire story, especially the ending, is beyond reason. It is just plain ridiculous. I thought for sure I would get to the end and find out it was all a dream because there was no way Ms. Patchett expected me to digest this plot. I certainly believe in an artist's license, but it just wasn't art. I'm giving it 2 stars because the character development was very good (unbelievable but well done). I wanted the best for these people since I felt like I knew them. That was one of the only reasons I finished "bel canto." If you want contempory storytelling with substance and heart, read J.M. Coetzee, Toni Morrison, even Dave Eggers or Nick Hornby - but don't expect to get it here.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully sung novel
Review: What a beautiful story, musical from beginning to end! Ms. Patchett's writing is lyrical, her characters completely believable (albeit full of surprises), and her ability to spin a story exemplary. The task she has assigns herself, managing a large, diverse group of characters involved in complex interactions in a confined space, is not an easy one; yet, she carefully differentiates each character from the others-even the terrorists, who could easily have become generic villains. As the story develops and relationships emerge among the various captives and captors, the boundaries between them begin to blur, as do their roles in the adventure. Odd to relate, but the boundaries between the fictional characters and me began to blur as well. Long before the end of the story, the covers of the book had disappeared and I had become part of the story. This was one of my favorite novels in 2001. Like a beautifully sung aria, it spread its wings and took flight, carrying me along with it, making me wish it could go on and on and on.
Rating:
Summary: Like Reading Music
Review: Ms. Patchett's book is one of the most beautiful literary works I have read in a long, long time. She has the gift of drawing a wide variety of characters, of weaving them into a coherent story, and of making what in lesser hands might seem like a pretty melodramatic situation into a realistic and gripping one. What a wonder this book is! It is, as always with the best of literature, music in its own way, and affects a reader as if she had been listening to some great piece of music.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Topic & Good Writing
Review: The first thing to note about Bel Canto is that you don't have to be a lover of Opera or be interested in a terrorist plot to take something away from this novel. While neither opera nor terrorism are appealing reading topics for me, I am glad that I read this book. The writing is excellent. In summary, Mr. Hosokawa is given a birthday party by an unnamed South American Country. His favorite opera singer Roxane Coss will perform. During the party, consisting of numerous international guests, terrorists take over and keep a group of 59 men & one famous opera singer hostage for many months. This novel explores how people, who can't speak the same language nor have much in common in the outside world, come to bond and care about one another. You can't help but imagine how you might behave or feel if put in the same situation. The author also asks the question, is the life we live day to day, true of who we really are? Once the characters are put in a hostage situation, it seems that some traits they do not allow in the "real world" are allowed to come forward behind the walls in which they are being kept hostage. Though many of the events that transpire seem unrealistic, Patchett's excellent writing makes most of it believable. The only disappointment was the ending, which still has me puzzled.
Rating:
Summary: Explaining how we live our lives
Review: Bel Canto is a marvel of a book, and I will be haunted by it for years, will reread it often, will give it as gifts to my favorite people! It delineates the way we manage to sustain hope, the things we must forget in order to experience joy, and the very human pursuit of happiness. There isn't a didactic passage in the book; it is pure discovery, and everyone who reads it will come away with a different conclusion, I imagine. I thought the ending was absolutely brilliant and also heartbreaking. It was inevitable, as well, and the fact that some people were disturbed by its conclusion only speaks to the amazing artistry of the book. I'm grateful to Ann Patchett for having given me the chance to live the life of this book while reading it, and for giving me something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Wonderful, Except for the Epilogue
Review: This is one book definitely deserving of the high praise it is receiving. Breathtakingly well written and characterized I read it in a few hours because it was so compelling;at least to the end of chapter ten. I cannot understand how the epilogue comes to be attached to this book which is so believable until then. It is almost as if another writer took over for the last three pages. Since the book is based on real events it is possible that this is what actually occurred. It is not believable. The first ten chapters are sublime and worth the disappointment of the ending. Even a person with no knowledge of opera will enjoy this wonderful story.
Rating:
Summary: Breath-taking
Review: Bel Canto is a remarkable novel of complexity and illusion. Patchett allows the reader to empathize with each of her characters, each exquisitely developed. Lyrical, heart-breaking, and inspiring, the narrative brings to the forefront the lives of fictional characters more vividly than any broadcast news anchor could manipulate the circumstances of real people.
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