I got this book many years ago when it seemed that everyone I knew was reading and loving it. Then (as usual for me) I hesitated to read it because everyone I knew was loving it. It has sat untouched in my ereader library ever since. Now it seems everyone I know is reading and loving Patchett’s latest book. So I decided it was time for this one.

A birthday party is taking place at the Vice-President’s home in an unnamed South American country. It’s for a wealthy businessman and planned as a way to woo him to doing business in the country. A performance by his favorite opera singer is what got him there. The party is interrupted when a group of terrorists takes everyone hostage. The ensuing standoff lasts for months.

It seems odd to describe a book about terrorists and their hostages as lovely but that’s the most accurate description of this story. Over the course of the standoff the relationships that develop among the characters are wonderfully depicted. These characters will stay with me for a long time

On the off chance that I’m not the last person on the planet to read this and you also haven’t read it, you should. ( )

I usually just use goodreads to track what I've read/don't write reviews, but I hated this so much so just want to say, this book is a very badly written apology for imperialism and I wish I hadn't read it.

1 to Lenore's review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2289935728?book_show_action=false&from...

Fine, a little boring, then very sad ( )

Bel Canto is a quiet story told with a sense of inevitability. The characters are detailed and poignant; the end, when it comes, is sad but not shocking. The author makes it clear that the hostages and terrorists are suspended in a soap bubble of time together; the question is not whether it will end, but how and when. ( )

ONE BIG SPOILER REVIEW COMING UP:

Bel Canto is a lovely written story of love, not a love story. Terrorists barge into a birthday party for a prominent Japanese businessman in South America under the rouse of possibly helping the small community financially. Mr. Hosokawa, however, is there only to hear the operatic voice of Roxane Coss, the famous soprano.

The story winds and turns, without any violence and minimal demands, as it is learned that the terrorists are, for the most part, young boys looking for the release of a few prisoners; there are two girls sprinkled in for good measure. Predictably, yet, beautifully, Roxanne and Mr. Hosokawa, who do not speak the same language, fall in love with the help of Gen, Mr. Hosokawa’s translator, who falls in love with one of the female captors. There are several other undercurrents of love; the love for music, the love of chess, the love of running, the love of parent and child.

The book is nearly over, and 4-1/2 months into captivity, when out of the blue, the army, or anti-terrorist team, swarms the house and kills all of the terrorists, including the translator’s love interest and accidentally, Mr. Hosokawa. On the next page, the last page, the translator and the opera singer get married; they state they are in love. The end.

What?! I reread the last page twice and still don’t understand what happened, or for that matter, why it happened.

Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t remember being so disappointed in an ending for as long as I can remember reading. Seriously. Boo.

So, why then would I recommend the book? Because it is wonderfully written and a remarkable, touching story of love. The book leads us to look at love in a different light. It is fresh and unique, though not a page-turner, and is quite entertaining. (Except for the ending, of course.) ( )