Just a bit hard to get through but if you can it has some undeniably interesting commentary. ( )

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. ( )