Bel Canto

Ann Patchett

I had really looked forward to reading this book, as everyone had raved about it, but I wasn't quite as impressed with it as others. For those who aren't familiar with the book, it's about a group of international political and business figures who are attending an affair to hear a famous female opera singer perform at the home/mansion of the VP of a South American country when a group of terrorists break in and take them all hostage. The rest of the story is about what happens during their captivity, including bonds that are formed both among themselves and with their captors. My problem with the book was that I just didn't find a lot of it very realistic. Much of it was predictable and there wasn't a great amount of depth to the story. I thought it was a reasonably enjoyable light read, though.