Sacred Heart Cathedral's student-run newspaper. We've got issues.

The Emerald

Sacred Heart Cathedral's student-run newspaper. We've got issues.

The Emerald

Sacred Heart Cathedral's student-run newspaper. We've got issues.

The Emerald

    “Bel Canto” Book Review

    In Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, opera and human relationships have never been compared quite as elegantly as they are here. In this novel, Mr. Hosokawa, a Japanese multi-millionaire with a passion for opera, throws a birthday party for himself in the home of the vice-president of a small, unnamed South American country. He invites Roxanne Coss, a world-renowned opera singer with a voice that makes everyone fall in love with her, as his special birthday present.

    Instead of a beautiful evening filled with opera, however, members of a terrorist organization break into the house looking for the President, who was supposed to attend but didn’t because he wanted to watch his soap opera on television. When it is discovered that the President is not there, the terrorist group decides to take the most important members of the party hostage, including Hosokawa, Roxanne, and the very accomplished translator, Gen. When it is determined that they will all be staying there for quite some time, the hostages and their captors, 58 people in all, begin to connect with each other, from becoming simple chess-playing partners to forming more intimate relationships.

    It is enchanting how the author manages to take a horrible situation and turn it into a study of opera and how it brings people together. The plot is very centered upon Roxanne Coss and how her voice and the beauty of her music affects everyone in the house in a deep way. Yet, even as wonderful things begin to happen in the house, there is always the overshadowing certainty that the situation cannot end well.
    Based on the Lima Crisis, this story is a work of art and a must-read for opera fans.

    Leave a Comment
    More to Discover

    Comments (0)

    Please be courteous and respectful of our student authors and editors. We reserve the right to ban users for any reason including -- but not limited to -- defamation, disrespect, and trolling.
    All The Emerald Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *