Rating: 
Summary: Hungry for more than food
Review: It isn't necessary to like opera to find something personal in this story, not only about why we like music (and why for many of us it is a need, like air to breath), but how we connect to one another. While I feel the story reinforces the randomness of living, there is a subtle joy in its constant theme of acknowledging the wonder of accidents. Though at times there is almost too much story being told (if you love action, this book is not for you), it's not a navel-gazer either, and there is room for the reader to consider what he or she might do within the same frightening and yet freeing circumstances.
Rating:
Summary: A first rate production
Review: Ann Patchett so skillfully and nicely crafted the story of Roxanne Coss, Mr. Hosakawa, Gen and the others that I was there. As a bel canto fan myself, I didn't think it was possible to experience exquisite music while reading its description. Her descriptions are so vivid, her prose is so magical, this is a book I didn't want to finish. While the resolution of the plot seems inevitable from the first few pages, Patchett makes it unexpected and very satisfying. I want her to tell me more about Gen, about Roxanne, and about the lives of those I met in that bittersweet confinement in that unknown country (reminiscent of the Japanese Embassy takeover in Peru a few years back.) All I can say is that Ann Patchett brought me there. While most books I want to rush through to find out how it turns out, her prose is such that I enjoyed reading every word. The book is built like a great opera -- it is the journey as much as the destination which is entertaining. I have recommended this book to anyone who would listen. I hope Patchett has the heart to bring me back to this world of exquisite music on future books.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring, Boring, Boring
Review: If you have a "Y" chromosome this book is not for you. My wife liked it (she IS a soprano); however, couldn't relate at all to the characters and thought the ending was completely contrived and illogical. Very much in the vein of "what are your really thinking" and "share your feelings with me." Budding juvenile chess masters and choir boy opera singers and the translator that just happens to speak every language known to man (with the possible exception of aramaic) strain credulity.
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.
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