Bel Canto (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions) - Softcover

9780061565311: Bel Canto (Harper Perennial Deluxe Editions)
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 

Now a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe.

“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 bestselling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. As in Patchett’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.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
In an unnamed South American country, a world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan. His hosts hope that Mr. Hosokawa can be persuaded to build a factory in their Third World backwater. Alas, in the opening sequence, just as the accompanist kisses the soprano, a ragtag band of 18 terrorists enters the vice-presidential mansion through the air conditioning ducts. Their quarry is the president, who has unfortunately stayed home to watch a favorite soap opera. And thus, from the beginning, things go awry.

Among the hostages are not only Hosokawa and Roxane Coss, the American soprano, but an assortment of Russian, Italian, and French diplomatic types. Reuben Iglesias, the diminutive and gracious vice president, quickly gets sideways of the kidnappers, who have no interest in him whatsoever. Meanwhile, a Swiss Red Cross negotiator named Joachim Messner is roped into service while vacationing. He comes and goes, wrangling over terms and demands, and the days stretch into weeks, the weeks into months.

With the omniscience of magic realism, Ann Patchett flits in and out of the hearts and psyches of hostage and terrorist alike, and in doing so reveals a profound, shared humanity. Her voice is suitably lyrical, melodic, full of warmth and compassion. Hearing opera sung live for the first time, a young priest reflects:

Never had he thought, never once, that such a woman existed, one who stood so close to God that God's own voice poured from her. How far she must have gone inside herself to call up that voice. It was as if the voice came from the center part of the earth and by the sheer effort and diligence of her will she had pulled it up through the dirt and rock and through the floorboards of the house, up into her feet, where it pulled through her, reaching, lifting, warmed by her, and then out of the white lily of her throat and straight to God in heaven.
Joined by no common language except music, the 58 international hostages and their captors forge unexpected bonds. Time stands still, priorities rearrange themselves. Ultimately, of course, something has to give, even in a novel so imbued with the rich imaginative potential of magic realism. But in a fractious world, Bel Canto remains a gentle reminder of the transcendence of beauty and love. --Victoria Jenkins
From the Back Cover:

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxane Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds, and people from different continents become compatriots. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion . . . and cannot be stopped.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781841155838: Bel Canto

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9781841155838
Publisher: Harpercollins Pb, 2002
Softcover

9780060838720: Bel Canto

Harper..., 2023
Softcover

9780060188733: Bel Canto: A Novel

Harper, 2001
Hardcover

9780062891907: Bel Canto [Movie Tie-in]: A Novel

Harper..., 2018
Softcover

9780008326135: Bel Canto

Fourth..., 2018
Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Shakespeare Book House
(Rockford, IL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. The item is Brand New!. Seller Inventory # 570Q1Y002HDX_ns

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 18.64
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Soft cover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BooksByLisa
(Highland Park, IL, U.S.A.)

Book Description Soft cover. Condition: New. Stored new. Seller Inventory # ABE-1697836230562

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0061565318

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 21.92
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0061565318xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0061565318-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0061565318

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.14
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Paperback Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0061565318

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.77
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
Published by Harper Perennial (2008)
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0061565318

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 29.99
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Patchett, Ann
ISBN 10: 0061565318 ISBN 13: 9780061565311
New Softcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.72. Seller Inventory # Q-0061565318

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 57.91
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds