Bel Canto (P.S.) 
Among the hostages are not only Hosokawa and Roxane Coss, the American soprano, but an assortment of Russian, Italian, and French diplomatic types. Reuben Iglesias, the diminutive and gracious vice president, quickly gets sideways of the kidnappers, who have no interest in him whatsoever. Meanwhile, a Swiss Red Cross negotiator named Joachim Messner is roped into service while vacationing. He comes and goes, wrangling over terms and demands, and the days stretch into weeks, the weeks into months.
With the omniscience of magic realism, Ann Patchett flits in and out of the hearts and psyches of hostage and terrorist alike, and in doing so reveals a profound, shared humanity. Her voice is suitably lyrical, melodic, full of warmth and compassion. Hearing opera sung live for the first time, a young priest reflects: Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God's own voice poured from her. How far she must have gone inside herself to call up that voice. It was as if the voice came from the center part of the earth and by the sheer effort and diligence of her will she had pulled it up through the dirt and rock and through the floorboards of the house, up into her feet, where it pulled through her, reaching, lifting, warmed by her, and then out of the white lily of her throat and straight to God in heaven. Joined by no common language except music, the 58 international hostages and their captors forge unexpected bonds. Time stands still, priorities rearrange themselves. Ultimately, of course, something has to give, even in a novel so imbued with the rich imaginative potential of magic realism. But in a fractious world, Bel Canto remains a gentle reminder of the transcendence of beauty and love. --Victoria Jenkins
Reviews
Ann Patchett
Harper Perennial
A great novel brought to you by Ann Patchett, this one titled Bel Canto. In the book a party is to be held for a Japanese businessman, Mr. Hosokawa, in hopes of getting funds from the larger country of Japan. The only reason Mr. Hosokawa attends is to hear his favorite singer, Roxanne Coss, who the country has gotten to sing at the party. The president of the country decides not to go because his favorite soap opera is on, and this turns out to be a good decision for him. During the party, while everyone is applauding and off guard, the party is taken over by a group of terrorists who are looking to kidnap the president. When they realize he is not in attendance they are furious and make an impulsive decision to hold the entire party hostage. The situation continues for a very long time, the captors just don't seem to want to negotiate! Under these desperate conditions new friendships, rivalries, and romances develop.
Roxanne Coss is a small woman with beautiful facial features who appears taller when she sings her powerful operas; she is known as the best opera singer in the world. Because of the wonderful music, (and possibly because the women hostages are all released, except her) many men fall in love with her. Even though she grows weary listening to the pledges of love from these men, she maintains her talent for being a good listener at what they have to say, and seeing the best in everyone. Mr. Hosokawa is a tall Japanese man in his fifties, whom the whole party was thrown for in the first place. He is a very hard worker who worked hard at his job and continues to work hard during the lock down to gain some understanding of the many languages spoken. He always thought he was happy but realizes that he never got to actually know his wife or children. He is one of the men who falls in love with Roxanne Coss, but, in turn, she falls in love with him. The person who has helped Mr. Hosokawa learn is Gen Watanabe, his hired assistant. Gen is very loyal to his employer, and would do almost anything for him. Gen is very smart and well educated and speaks many many languages, he eventually becomes the translator for everybody from the terrorists to the captives. He works like a machine but realizes during the story that he can show his emotions sometimes.
The story was wonderful. The author also did a great job of making the characters believable, I felt like I knew them during the book. There were so many fascinating characters that kept me thinking throughout. It was intriguing and kept me reading, I couldn't put it down! The book is great for adults to read, as they will enjoy imagining how they would react in a hostage situation like that. And whenever the story got dull, I could always count on a twist right around the corner. I highly recommend Bel Canto for a good realistic fiction read.
And for a while, I'm okay with all that. But a dozen pages pass by, then 100, then another 100, and I am still in this mansion with all these stick figure stereotypes, knowing that Something Awful awaits me in a few more pages and trying to decide whether or not I care. Patchett seems to feel similarly unengaged, and after manipulating her characters into various poses in vain hopes of imbuing them with some semblance of verisimilitude, she does what authors inevitably do when they get stuck. Need I say more?
The tacked-on epilogue is especially tacky. The fact that it even exists is a reflection of authorial or editorial (take your pick) discomfort with the path that the book has followed. Too bad, as Patchett is a lyrical writer whose work has great potential, but transforming it into a masterpiece would have required much more than a bandaid ending.