Bel Canto

author
Ann Patchett

what the back of the book says
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. 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.

some of the hype
“Patchett doing what she does best -- What gives this novel its power is Patchett’s flair for sketching the subtleties of her characters’ behavior.” —New York Times Book Review

Patchett's tragicomic novel -- a fantasia of guns and Puccini and Red Cross negotiations -- invokes the glorious, unreliable promises of art, politics, and love." —The New Yorker

"Bel Canto invites readers to explore new and unfamiliar territory, to take some emotional risks rather than stand with Rolland among those 'already saved.'" —Chicago Tribune

"With the right soundtrack, with the right singer singing the right music, all battlefields can become utopias." —The Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Bel Canto has all the qualities one has come to expect from a classic Ann Patchett novel: grace, beauty, elegance, and magic." —Madison Smartt Bell

other things this author has written
Truth & Beauty
Taft
The Patron Saint of Liars
The Magician's Assistant