Book: Bel Canto

 Book: Bel Canto

Author: Ann Patchett

Pages: 318

This is my 15th read for the year

During a birthday party for a wealthy business man named Mr. Hosokawa, a ban of terrorist takes the party hostage becasue they are looking for the president of South America.  On discovery that the President is not there - only the vice president, the hostages let some of the women and children go and keep all of the men and a female opera singer who had been brought in to entertain the guest.  Weeks go by with no resolution from the country with the terrorist all while the hostages try to make their day to day as normal as possible.  They even start to sympathize with some of the terrorist - some they come to find out are women.  They work together during a terrible circumstance with the hope that they will be released without harm.

I have read a couple of Patchett's books and always like them okay.  I liked The Dutchhouse the best, but all of them have been on the dry side for me.  She is very wordy with not much to say.  These people are being held hostage, but there is very little emotion that I found that made me care what happened to any of them.  It was about 200 pages too long to get her point across.

I read this book for a challenge, otherwise I probably would not have picked it up knowing how past books by Patchett have sat with me.

Stars: 3