Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: What's all this hype? As a reader of 2-3 books weekly, I found this beast boring to the point of tearing my hair out from boredom. Absolutely no action, and boring subject matter. This was my Book Club's September read, and if our leader assigns another like this (it ranks right up there with "Unless"), I'll find another book group to join.Long, laborious, filled with useless detail. The characters have no real definition - the reader knows all about them, but they are lifeless. Each of them, up to page 90 which is as far as I could force myself despite going back to this book 3 times, was more lifeless than the next. If the purpose of plot is to advance the story - please tell me what keeps this mess moving?????
Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written
Review: This book's subject could have been very dry if not for the beautiful writing style. I enjoyed the way the author entered the minds of most of the main characters and allowed you to see how differently they saw themselves under their circumstances. They went through transformations. I had now idea where it was going, and I really enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: Slow torture
Review: After watching this book ride the best-seller lists for a while and after reading all of the glowing reviews on the book cover, I decided to check it out. About 100 pages into the book, I kept thinking that surely something interesting was about to happen. It became real torture to continue with this book, but I hate to stop reading books once I have started and I was sure that the plot would pick up or the characters would become more interesting if I just stuck with it. Why else would the book be so popular? Unfortunately, the book did not improve. The plot just kept getting more implausible. Yeah, I am sure terrorists are beautiful, warm, and caring people if you just take the time go get to know them! Aaarrrggghhh... After forcing myself to finish the book, I found the ending to be abrupt and predictable, and the epilogue was ridiculous and unnecessary. After reading the book, I came to the Amazon web site and read the reviews (something I wish I had done before I started!). It appears that people either love or hate this book. Put me firmly in the latter camp.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I was hooked at the beginning. I loved the book's characters, it's plot, the camaraderie between the hostages and the terrorists, and it's homage to the arts. This book also stirred in me an interest in opera. Reading it was like going to a retreat in which I could easily imagine myself happily living.
Rating:
Summary: A modern classic!
Review: This is a modern classic. The book is simply a marvelous accomplishment by Ann Patchett. And yet, I almost did not read this wonderful book until my wife and a friend both recommended it highly. After all, this is based on a true event, but it's a novel, and it's about terrorists, which is not my favorite subject right now. I could not have been more wrong in my first impression. After reading this I feel that I was held captive, or maybe was a terrorist who lived these months, with these characters. Marvelous and important in it brings together so many different nationalities, languages, and backgrounds all who share a love of the arts, in this case music. Ann Patchett also gives perspective, a new face, to terrorism, and explores how and who creates terrorism and the impact people can have one on one in building understanding and universality. I simply must instruct you to read this marvelous novel. One of the very best I have read
Rating:
Summary: Lost my interest
Review: I am a professional classical musician, and was looking forward to reading this beautiful book about the power of music. To my disappointment, this book turned out to be a total bore, with a stagnant plot and dimensionless characters. The "psychological" babble only skims the surface of human experience. I'm already three-quarters into the book, and still can't find anything worth turning of the next page. I'm only still reading it because I hate to quit a book I've started. The only redeeming feature of this book is its simple prose, which makes it a quick read.
Rating: 
Summary: Sensitive Subject Matter for Me
Review: I realize it has been two years since Sept. 11th, but I still cant stomach a book about terrorism. Yes, I do realize this is set in another country, and that terrorism does take place all over the world (as it, unfortunately, has for years..)but I, personally, cannot read it about it. This book was just a little too much for me, too wordy, too violent.
Rating:
Summary: I didn't want it to end
Review: one of the classic books around. I had hesitated to buy it because of the hostage story line but was entranced from the beginning. The writing is fantastic and so much is packed in a short space. highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: A Marketing Ruse Poorly Written Story
Review: This over rated book can only be popular due to the subject matter, i.e. terrorism. It's so boring, and I can't believe that people actually liked it. My entire book club hated it. I could barely get through it, hoping that the ending would redeem the book, and it was even more horrible. Just each day went on, and the next, nothing happening. And that insipid opera singer, who can't even sing without her written music, what kind of professional is that? Opera is not the freaking garden of eden for heavens sake. It's just a lot of gratuitous high singing. Sure, anyone can vibrato. Try singing clearly. There's a trick. The obvious attempt to get us to see the artistic beauty of the terrorist and their lost potential is the only redeeming quality, and that reference was amateurish and contrived. Do not waste your time. The marketers have created a ruse.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull characters and very little plot
Review: I found it difficult to care about a single character in this book, of which there are many. The author uses the omniscent viewpoint, but fails miserably in developing any one character to the point that oneou can like or dislike them. The plot is very slow, so there is really nothing to carry you on. Even the grammar is sometimes amateurish. Some people adore this book, but they're relating to something in it that I simply cannot locate.
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