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A review by midwifereading
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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? No
2.0
**some spoiler-ish talk**
It took me two weeks to read this. I don't know how much of it was because of its slow pace, or because I have had an especially busy couple of work weeks. (It's raining babies here, y'all.)
Normally, a book people describe as slow will turn out to be one that I really enjoy, but this one didn't really work for me. I never had an urge to DNF it, but I also rarely felt urgently compelled to pick it up.
Ann Patchett's writing is superb, lyrical, and descriptive. Her characters have depth, and the relationships are especially complex and honest. The whole hostage/terrorist dynamic adds a layer that you are invited to forget right alongside each character, only to have stark reminders creep up on you. You just know this can't end well. But you lose sight of that in the hope that, somehow, against the odds, it will turn out okay.
It doesn't.
And the epilogue felt unreal and unbelievable to me, though I suppose it makes some sense.
I desperately wanted a happy ending for this story, but all we're given is bittersweet at best. I don't always need a happy ending, by any means, but I did this time.
The slow, melancholy pace is shot through with bright glimpses of hope, but you know, all along, it's not true hope. I almost wished everyone had died, so it's properly tragic. That would have been easier to swallow for me personally.
I can see why Patchett is a favorite author, and her acclaim is well-deserved! Yet, I don't know that she's right for me. Anything less than five stars feels wrong, objectively speaking, but since my ratings are exclusively based on how the book was for me personally, I can't rate it higher than I have.
It took me two weeks to read this. I don't know how much of it was because of its slow pace, or because I have had an especially busy couple of work weeks. (It's raining babies here, y'all.)
Normally, a book people describe as slow will turn out to be one that I really enjoy, but this one didn't really work for me. I never had an urge to DNF it, but I also rarely felt urgently compelled to pick it up.
Ann Patchett's writing is superb, lyrical, and descriptive. Her characters have depth, and the relationships are especially complex and honest. The whole hostage/terrorist dynamic adds a layer that you are invited to forget right alongside each character, only to have stark reminders creep up on you. You just know this can't end well. But you lose sight of that in the hope that, somehow, against the odds, it will turn out okay.
It doesn't.
And the epilogue felt unreal and unbelievable to me, though I suppose it makes some sense.
I desperately wanted a happy ending for this story, but all we're given is bittersweet at best. I don't always need a happy ending, by any means, but I did this time.
The slow, melancholy pace is shot through with bright glimpses of hope, but you know, all along, it's not true hope. I almost wished everyone had died, so it's properly tragic. That would have been easier to swallow for me personally.
I can see why Patchett is a favorite author, and her acclaim is well-deserved! Yet, I don't know that she's right for me. Anything less than five stars feels wrong, objectively speaking, but since my ratings are exclusively based on how the book was for me personally, I can't rate it higher than I have.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content