Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett

I'm pretty sure I put this book on my list because Laura Vanderkam kept talking about it in her book 168 hours. That's before I realized that I found her book very mediocre and therefore that she might not be the ideal person to get reading ideas from.

But I guess bad writers sometimes have good taste. Good luck finding someone who will say that Bel Canto is mediocre.

Summary

The novel is inspired by the Japanese embassy hostage crisiswhich took place in 1996. On the occasion of the birthday of an influential Japanese businessman, an unidentified South American country organizes a party in his honor, hoping that he will decide to invest in the country. To ensure that he accepts the invitation, they take a drastic measure: they bring in opera singer Roxane Coss. The businessman can not refuse an opportunity to see her up close. Roxane Coss is his idol, he is almost in love with her.

But just as Roxane Coss begins to sing, a band of terrorists infiltrates the building and takes all the guests present hostage. They want the president of the country, except that the president is not there, he stayed home to watch his favorite soap opera. Since there are hundreds of people present, they decide to release most of them and keep only those who can bring them a good ransom.

The hostages will remain prisoners of this place for months. The time it takes for them to develop unusual relationships and for their situation, at first so distressing, to become their normality from which they no longer really want to leave.

Impressions

It was a beautiful book, that's for sure. And the concept is great: no wonder thatan opera and thata movie were derived from it. The characters are endearing, and the ending will stick in my mind for a while.

But while all the elements were present for me to go crazy for this book, I didn't completely get hooked. I think it's because it was a little too theatrical: the singer was so magically charming and beautiful, the developing romances were so romantic, the music had such a power over the characters... There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, on the contrary, but I prefer it when it's a little more understated. In that case, I felt like I was being taken by the hand and told in detail how I should feel.

But the author did not want to be discreet. At the end of the novel, we have access to an interview with her, and she explains that she wanted to make an operatic novel, full of drama and strong emotions. After all, opera is a bit of a theme in the novel, so it's logical (and brilliant) that it's the form as well.

So in the end, it's a matter of taste. Maybe if I read it again in a decade, the charm will work, and it will be a favorite. It certainly has the potential.