Bel Canto, Anne Patchett

ONE BIG SPOILER REVIEW COMING UP:

Bel Canto is a lovely written story of love, not a love story. Terrorists barge into a birthday party for a prominent Japanese businessman in South America under the rouse of possibly helping the small community financially. Mr. Hosokawa, however, is there only to hear the operatic voice of Roxane Coss, the famous soprano.

The story winds and turns, without any violence and minimal demands, as it is learned that the terrorists are, for the most part, young boys looking for the release of a few prisoners; there are two girls sprinkled in for good measure. Predictably, yet, beautifully, Roxanne and Mr. Hosokawa, who do not speak the same language, fall in love with the help of Gen, Mr. Hosokawa’s translator, who falls in love with one of the female captors. There are several other undercurrents of love; the love for music, the love of chess, the love of running, the love of parent and child.

The book is nearly over, and 4-1/2 months into captivity, when out of the blue, the army, or anti-terrorist team, swarms the house and kills all of the terrorists, including the translator’s love interest and accidentally, Mr. Hosokawa. On the next page, the last page, the translator and the opera singer get married; they state they are in love. The end.

What?! I reread the last page twice and still don’t understand what happened, or for that matter, why it happened.

Oh. My. Gosh. I don’t remember being so disappointed in an ending for as long as I can remember reading. Seriously. Boo.

So, why then would I recommend the book? Because it is wonderfully written and a remarkable, touching story of love. The book leads us to look at love in a different light. It is fresh and unique, though not a page-turner, and is quite entertaining. (Except for the ending, of course.)