The Generals seemed to have no power over anybody and were as confused as I became about why they were even there, and what they hoped to achieve Read moreĪ group of dignitaries are brought together in an unnamed South American country for a special occasion: a party at the Vice-President's mansion.

I didn't buy her allure.There seemed too many characters and not enough depth to any of them.

She also has an array of drooling fans who have managed to fall in love with her. The large group are holed up in the vice-presidents mansion for months on end.The main, and only female, hostage is a famous opera singer who somehow manages to get her own bedroom and personal attendant for the duration of the 'situation'. We meet some of the hostage takers (terrorists), who get the same lightweight treatment as far as personal histories go. We meet a handful of the guests, hear about their circumstances, their relationships and histories. I kept wanting to read it, but it left me disappointed in what I think could have been a great story.A load of distinguished party guests are taken hostage after the man they wanted to kidnap was found absent from the party he was supposed to be attending. Patchett's lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers. It is a perfect evening-until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing.

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett’s spellbinding novel about love and opera, and the unifying ways people learn to communicate across cultural barriers in times of crisis A marvel of a book.' - Washington Post Book World

National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist.

Bel canto ann