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helen's review against another edition
4.0
Loosely based on events in Peru in 1996 when a guerrilla group entered the Japanese ambassador's residence and held people hostage for four months.
This book is set in an unspecified South American country and the hostages are from all over the world, including a famous American soprano, an opera-loving Japanese businessman, and his (very overworked!) translator.
The hostage-takers start off as a scary group with guns, but over the course of the book, via Patchett's excellent use of humour and pathos, they become individuals who are trapped by their circumstances. The author makes a bold decision to tell us their fate in chapter one. This has the effect of allowing us to slow down and sink into the unfurling story without the need to rush to the end to find out what happens.
Despite the violent beginning and ending, at its heart it's a kind story about trapped people finding a common language via music and love.
4 stars because I really disliked the epilogue.
Content notes: Death of main characters, guns, gun violence, on page sex
This book is set in an unspecified South American country and the hostages are from all over the world, including a famous American soprano, an opera-loving Japanese businessman, and his (very overworked!) translator.
The hostage-takers start off as a scary group with guns, but over the course of the book, via Patchett's excellent use of humour and pathos, they become individuals who are trapped by their circumstances. The author makes a bold decision to tell us their fate in chapter one. This has the effect of allowing us to slow down and sink into the unfurling story without the need to rush to the end to find out what happens.
Despite the violent beginning and ending, at its heart it's a kind story about trapped people finding a common language via music and love.
4 stars because I really disliked the epilogue.
Content notes:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
deebee223's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Police brutality, Infidelity, Death, Violence, Gun violence, and Murder
Minor: War
matcha_pages's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gun violence
rosalind's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
vampireph4ze's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
this is the first book i've read by Ann Patchett and it makes me eager to read through everything she's written. i found this book by chance in my family's bookshelf — no one else had ever read it and the answer as to how we even got the book is still somewhat of a mystery. nonetheless, it also happened to be the only think from the bookshelf that sounded even remotely interesting, and it was worth it.
the adventure that this book takes you on is heart-wrenching and eye-opening. the way that Patchett approaches the relationships between characters and the internal (and external) conflicts that this insane situation puts them in. i want to do an entire analysis of every character, major and minor, and see how they changed throughout the book. i felt them come to life and completely occupy my mind. whenever i put the book away, the characters still followed me. i found the characters to be extremely likable, and i never grew to hate any of them. Bel Canto is by no means a perfect book — there are many racial/ethnic stereotypes, and the treatment of women is a bit questionable (but not as apparent as the stereotypes). the ending, as in the epilogue, is also somewhat disappointing - but if you think about it enough i'm sure you can justify it.
honestly, the characters and the plot were not what made me fall in love with the book. they helped, certainly, but it was the message. Patchett clearly wanted to show people how important and common human connection is, even when you are on rivaled sides and cannot speak the same language. it is about the language of music, the love that people have for it and the appreciation that leaps across any boundaries that may stand in its way. i am not a huge fan of opera at all, but i understand the feeling of falling absolutely in love with a band or a singer, to the point where it feels almost religious. these connections, these ways that humans communicate with each other when language fails them, are fascinating to me and Bel Canto does an amazing job of representing that. we all have needs, wants, and fears, and that is something all of us — no matter who we are or where we are from — can relate to.
the adventure that this book takes you on is heart-wrenching and eye-opening. the way that Patchett approaches the relationships between characters and the internal (and external) conflicts that this insane situation puts them in. i want to do an entire analysis of every character, major and minor, and see how they changed throughout the book. i felt them come to life and completely occupy my mind. whenever i put the book away, the characters still followed me. i found the characters to be extremely likable, and i never grew to hate any of them. Bel Canto is by no means a perfect book — there are many racial/ethnic stereotypes, and the treatment of women is a bit questionable (but not as apparent as the stereotypes). the ending, as in the epilogue, is also somewhat disappointing - but if you think about it enough i'm sure you can justify it.
honestly, the characters and the plot were not what made me fall in love with the book. they helped, certainly, but it was the message. Patchett clearly wanted to show people how important and common human connection is, even when you are on rivaled sides and cannot speak the same language. it is about the language of music, the love that people have for it and the appreciation that leaps across any boundaries that may stand in its way. i am not a huge fan of opera at all, but i understand the feeling of falling absolutely in love with a band or a singer, to the point where it feels almost religious. these connections, these ways that humans communicate with each other when language fails them, are fascinating to me and Bel Canto does an amazing job of representing that. we all have needs, wants, and fears, and that is something all of us — no matter who we are or where we are from — can relate to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
agnesg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Medical content, and Violence
lalu's review against another edition
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.
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.
But I'm still bummed about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
caseythereader's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, Confinement, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Child death, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content
mblanke's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, War, Terminal illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture
zombiezami's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.5
I went into this book not knowing anything about it or the author. I loved this book and the way it was written. I got very sucked in to the narrative and the characters, which made the ending all the more heartbreaking .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Infidelity, Death, Kidnapping, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, and Grief
Minor: War, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Hostage situation