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Bel Canto

A Novel

Ann Patchett

Ages 16+

Readers rate it 3.8 (252 on Hardcover)

356 pages · Released Mar 17, 2009

Content report card

Bel Canto parent’s guide: what’s inside

High confidence

What it offers

Educational value

A note for parents

Bel Canto is an adult literary novel centered on a hostage situation that, while not graphically violent, carries significant psychological weight and existential tension. The story explores themes of captivity, loss, and moral ambiguity, and contains occasional profanity and adult romantic elements. This is sophisticated fiction best suited to mature teen readers and adults who can engage with its complex character development and emotional depth.

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From the publisher

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Winner of the Orange Prize • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century "Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." —Washington Post Book World New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett’s spellbinding nov... Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Winner of the Orange Prize • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century "Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." —Washington Post Book World New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett’s spellbinding novel about love and opera, and the unifying ways people learn to communicate across cultural barriers in times of crisis 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. Roxanne 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, intimate friends, and lovers. Patchett'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.

Shelved under

  • Fiction
  • Diverse Characters
  • Strong Character Development
  • Character driven
  • Loveable Characters
  • international
  • sad
  • reflective
  • emotional
  • tense
  • challenging
  • inspiring

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ISBN 9780061738883 · Harper Collins

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