'Bel Canto' unfolds in a luxurious mansion during a hijacking, where hostages and captors find themselves in an unexpected bond. Amidst the chaos, the power of music transcends barriers, weaving a tapestry of emotions and connections. Patchett masterfully explores themes of love, sacrifice, and the fragility of life. As relationships evolve under the stress of the situation, each character's backstory adds depth to their interactions. This lyrical novel invites readers to ponder the transformative power of art in the face of adversity.
By Ann Patchett
Published: 2001
"Music is what will make us one, more than anything else could. It is the only language that will speak to us in this chaos."
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots. Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped. Ann Patchett has written a novel that is as lyrical and profound as it is unforgettable. Bel Canto engenders in the reader the very passion for art and the language of music that its characters discover. As a reader, you find yourself fervently wanting this captivity to continue forever, even though you know that real life waits on the other side of the garden wall. A virtuoso performance by one of our best and most important writers, Bel Canto is a novel to be cherished.
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“Music is what will make us one, more than anything else could. It is the only language that will speak to us in this chaos.”
Bel Canto
By Ann Patchett
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Ann Patchett is an acclaimed American author known for her insightful explorations of relationships and the complexities of human experience. Her notable works include the bestselling novels 'Bel Canto,' which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, and 'Commonwealth,' a finalist for the National Book Award. Patchett's writing style is characterized by its lyrical prose and deep emotional resonance, often weaving together themes of love, loss, and the intricacies of family dynamics. In addition to her novels, she is a respected essayist and co-owner of Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee.
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