Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Bel Canto

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

12 reviews

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There are aspects of this book I liked but I didn’t think they were fully realized. I did not feel like the characters were flushed out in their entirety and they seemed to all exist in a 2-dimensional vacuum. There was no sense of who they were before to compare to who they were in this situation which made it fall flat for me. As much as I like the ending pre-Epilogue (there truly was no other way to end it and I feel like if it got a happily ever after it would defeat the purpose of what it meant to be human and share this experience) I HATED the epilogue… that came out of left field and it was just so upsetting and out of character? It felt shock for the sake of shock. There was no time depth too between the end and epilogue making it seem like it was quite recent which further confused and upset me because of how absurd it was. As much as I like the premise it just wasn’t there.

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greatexpectations77's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is one of those books that unfolds slowly, and you spend so much time with it that you feel a little loss after it's over. Like your mind keeps wandering back to these fully formed characters that you've grown to care about, just to arrive at the conclusion that they're gone from your life forever. I felt such tenderness toward almost every character. And I think it was intentional, but the only bit for me that kept me from a 5-star review

was that the ending was so abrupt that I thought I had missed pages.

But the whole playing with tragicomedy was incredible, and I really enjoyed the writing.

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asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a tricky book for me. At first I wasn't sure I was connecting with it the way I expected, which I think was because I was reading several other books at the same time. Once I gave it my full attention (and once I'd got to know the wonderful characters) I was much more engaged.

It's odd that there seems to be very little tension in the opening, despite what should be a harrowing story. But although it took some getting used to, I came to like the meandering pace that was set instead.

This book shines in the simple things the hostages learn about themselves, each other and their captors; and the way relationships are borne out of this entirely abnormal scenario. The writing is absolutely stunning, and deserves the patience to get lost in it.

In the end the story really grew on me, and I think I'll be processing the suddenness of the ending for a while to come.

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lottselgar's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

ann gave me the world and then ripped it out from under me. i was so hopeful.

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deebee223's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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phantomgecko's review

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Often when I'm talking to my husband about what I'm reading, he'll ask, "What's the point of this book?" and basically if he needs to ask, the answer is just people. Bel Canto is 100% about people and how they feel. You get glimpses of much more than just the "main" characters. Backstory after backstory. Tidbits that don't affect the plot at all but add flavor to the people soup.

This character is ashamed of her cowardly husband; this character fell in love with art as a child; this character is in love with a coworker; this character is trying to use this situation for political gain.

It's a slow book. There's a plot, but often the plot doesn't matter. The characters do tho.

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rosalind's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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lalu's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

This book was rather outside my comfort zone. But I loved it.

It's one of those rare stories that take a long time to read without becoming boring or ending in a reading slump - it just felt right to read the 300-something pages over the course of a month instead of just a few days since the plot spans over several months. Which surprised me because hostage situations usually are a fast-paced thing that rarely take more than a few days. But this is not your typical hostage situation. This was the story of a bunch of people from all over the world with no common language building the most exceptional relationships.
The way the reader gets to effortlessly switch between different character's perspectives and thoughts was marvelous. I immensely enjoyed not having a protagonist and instead falling in love with and rooting for every character, regardless of whether they were a hostage or a captor, because they were all so human.

The only thing that bothered me was the ending. They didn't deserve to die. Also I don't get why Gen and Roxane got married. But I guess it makes sense to have that sudden awakening and the end of the kind of utopia that they were living in. Back to real life, where you have to make compromises. This simply isn't a fairy tale with a happy ending.
But I'm still bummed about it.

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caseythereader's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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mblanke's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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