Bel Canto

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

“Blissfully Romantic.... A strange, terrific, spellcasting story.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Bel Canto...should be on the list of every literate music lover. The story is riveting, the participants breathe and feel and are alive, and throughout this elegantly-told novel, music pours forth so splendidly that the reader hears it and is overwhelmed by its beauty.” (Lloyd Moss, WXQR)

“Glorious.” (The New Yorker)

Ann Patchett’s award winning, New York Times best-selling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. As in Pratchett’s other novels, including Truth & Beauty and The Magician’s Assistant, the author’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.

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©2001 Ann Patchett (P)2001 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• 2002 Orange Prize for Fiction
• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Winner, Paperback, 2003
• PEN/Faulkner Award Winner, 2002

"Patchett can be counted on to deliver novels rich in imaginative bravado and psychological nuance. This fluid and assured narrative...demonstrates her growing maturity and mastery of form." (Publishers Weekly)
"Mixing art and politics can have unexpected results, but rarely are they so poignant....[Anna Fields'] performance is the essence of Bel Canto, easy, pure of tone, with an agile, precise vocal technique." (AudioFile)

Still haunts my memory

Ann Patchett is an author I can never review right away. Her stories need to sit with me, requiring some contemplating. She allows her readers to be wise, draw their own conclusions, and harbour their own hope for her characters. I loved the inevitable ending, while wishing against it with every fiber of my being. Her characters ended up feeling like friends and I didn't want to let them go. They still haunt me, like the ghost of a perfect aria cycling through my mind. Unlike most stories, I will not forget a moment of this one. It has become a top recommendation.

A Surprising Love Story between Captors and Hostag

Would you consider the audio edition of Bel Canto to be better than the print version?

I thought the narrarator Anna Fields, brought just the right tone and nuace to the story. Her voice made it easy for me to feel as thought I were there, almost a part of the group.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bel Canto?

The ending was surprising, and although I'm not entirely sure I liked it, I could see no other way to bring the story to some kind of resolution.

What about Anna Fields’s performance did you like?

Everything. Tone, pausing, changes in inflections - soft/hard/kind/stern. It was as if she knew each character and could introduce them to us exactly as they should be.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was interesting enough, but I can't listen for longer than a few hours before I start becoming distracted. I did however, immediately start listening to it the minute I was out for a walk, bike ride, etc.

Any additional comments?

Loved it which surprised me. Wasn't sure it would hold my attention, but it did. I really enjoyed the characters (although the adoration of one of the characters became a bit much as some points.)

Well crafted, well written story

Captivating tale that will hold the reader’s interest. The narrator is in over her head with her attempt to portray accents from multiple countries. This became laughable & annoying, as the attempts to speak in the accents of people from different countries was ridiculous. But the story is good.

Left me hanging..

Interesting story concept with good development of characters but the ending was jarring without taking advantage of developing that more. I love Ann Patchett writing but not my favorite.

Bel Canto

If you could sum up Bel Canto in three words, what would they be?

Engrossing and Tragic

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved all the individual characters, but I think that Mr. Hosokawa sticks in my mind the most. A business man who had little time for his family, he was the most changed by these events.

Which character – as performed by Anna Fields – was your favorite?

Anna Fields did such an amazing narration of this book. She brought life to all the characters, male and female in many foreign languages. Amazing!

Who was the most memorable character of Bel Canto and why?

Gen was the most memorable for me. He brought guests and terrorists together in a way that would not have been possible without his interpretations.

Any additional comments?

Read/listen to this book. You won't be sorry. I listened to State of Wonder for my book club and I enjoyed it so much I wanted to read another Ann Patchett book. I chose this one for it's unusual premise. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Heartbreaking

You know from the beginning that the end is coming, yet you can't help but live and laugh and live with these character. I love to find a story that's completely unlike any other I've read, and this fits the bill. Anna Fields is a masterful narrator brilliantly distinguishing characters and accents.

Mesmerizing! A bit surreal.

What made the experience of listening to Bel Canto the most enjoyable?

The narration is quite dreamy, omniscient voice seems impossibly hard to do well, and it works here. Everyone is kind of floating through this crazy, insane traumatic event. I really found I couldn't stop listening, even though I kept wondering why I was so compelled.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bel Canto?

The unraveling that finally--after so much tension has built up in the small space they all inhabit--happens. The climax.

Which scene was your favorite?

The way the chips fell. Except the epilogue was quite cheesy and could be removed entirely from the book and do no one any harm.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did feel emotional at the end, after all that time invested in these people whose lives are so weirdly intertwined in this stalemate for so long, in such close quarters.

Wow. Just Wow!

This is not a topic or storyline that I would normally choose, but I recently finished (and enjoyed) Commonwealth so I thought I'd give it a try. I am SO glad I did. Enjoy this one, folks. It's beautiful and sad and wonderful all at once. I dare you not to love it.

beautiful literary fiction<br />

Patchett has a wonderfully nuanced eye for life and ear for language. And this is a perfect reading. Brava!!!

Anna Fields can do all accents!

The narrator was my hook with her perfect diction in so many languages.
Then the idea of an entire book about hostages "somewhere" in South America was hard to imagine holding my attention. How wrong was I? The descriptions are lyrical. The characters interacting in so many languages with one translator was daunting. But it so worked. The love that bloomed was surprising when you tried explaining the characters to others. But as they unfolded, it made perfect sense.
Now I can't wait to read every book Ann Patchett has written. She obviously loves the perfectly worded narrative. I plan to seek out articles and interviews to understand her genius. Treat yourself, you won't regret it!