She takes two groups of people and tosses them together like salad ingredients. My conclusionsīel Canto is my first experience reading Ann Patchett’s work. But carrying guns everywhere they go is not. Living in a home with this much luxury is entirely foreign to them. They’re young and inexperienced in the ways of the world, except for their generals. But, truthfully, Patchett develops many of the characters. He becomes a central character, since his translation services are needed in nearly every scene. But in this case, communication depends on Mr. There’s a saying that music is the universal language. What follows is a unique progression from aggression to near complacency. So instead, the rebels capture everyone else. But sadly, he stayed home that evening, preferring television to opera.

What they want is to kidnap the nation’s President. A group of rebels slips in through the heating ducts, and takes everyone in the party hostage. But they have virtually nothing in common except possibly the desire for a night away from the routine and some musical excellence.Īnd then the unthinkable happens. It’s what you might call a motley crew, but in fact none of them are motley. They’re celebrating the birthday of Japanese businessman, Mr. It’s an elegant and meaningful exposition of kidnapping, but also of love.Ī group of businessmen, diplomats, and important people gather in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country to hear a world-renowned opera singer perform. Ultimately, it is the terrorist strike that does more to promote foreign relations than anyone could have hoped to achieve with the party.Bel Canto, published in 2001 by Ann Patchett, is a melodic story of an extreme case of Stockholm Syndrome. The tycoon's engaging and sympathetic translator plays a vital role in the subsequent relationships between so many different nationalities closeted together, interpreting not only the terrorists' negotiations but also the language of love between lovers who cannot understand what the other is saying. Among the hostages are a world class opera singer and her biggest fan, a Japanese tycoon who has been persuaded to attend the party on the understanding that she will perform half a dozen arias after dinner. Latin terrorists storm an international gathering hosted by an underprivileged country to promote foreign interest and trade, only to find that their intended target, the President, has stayed home to watch his favourite soap opera on TV. The poignant - and at times very funny - novel from the author of State of Wonder and Commonwealth. Winner of the Orange Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett