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BOOKS I READ: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (2001). A birthday celebration for a Japanese executive at the opulent residence of the vice president of an unnamed South American country takes an ominous turn when the revelers are taken hostage by a guerrilla group looking to kidnap the president who is a no-show—he is home watching his beloved telenovela. Roxane Coss is the world-renowned opera star plied to come sing six songs for the guest of honor. She is his favorite soprano, and the only woman hostage after all the others are released. The stalemate at the residence extends for weeks, with hostages and armed insurgents waiting for the government’s response to unreasonable demands. The city’s garúa, “more than mist and less than drizzle,” adds to the gloomy situation.
Patchett’s story is connected by thin threads, some pretty implausible. Gen, the Japanese translator for Mr. Hosokawa, becomes necessary middleman for all negotiations and conversations. Every declaration of love requires Gen to be witness, and none is more enjoyable than the one by the Russian, Victor Fyodorov, one of many who fall for Coss, and who tells a dazzling story on how he came to admire art, a proxy for his worthiness.
Previous book from the reading log (or check out a list of all my recent reads):
