Bel Canto By Ann Patchett Caitlin Atkinson Mr. Kelly Writing 421 Alpha November 28 th,2013

Ann Patchett Ann Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California on December 2 nd, Ann is the daughter of novelist Jeanne Ray, has earned degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Iowa and had her first work of fiction published while still an undergrad. She has received the Orange Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner award in 2002 for her novel Bel Canto. Her other novels include Run, The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, State of Wonder, and The Magician’s Assistant, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Ann now lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Summary In an unnamed South American country, a world-renowned soprano, Roxane Coss, sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan, Mr. Hosokawa. His hosts hope that they can persuade him to build a factory in their Third World backwater, but Hosokawa has no interest in building a factory, he has only come to hear the beautiful voice of Miss Coss. As the last song is sung, a band of terrorists enter the vice-presidential mansion and take more than 200 foreign diplomats, government officials, and businessmen hostage. What begins as a life-threatening scenario slowly becomes a thing of beauty, as terrorists and hostages unite in unexpected ways. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion...and cannot be stopped.

Main Characters Katsumi Hosokawa Is the founder and chairman of Nansei, the largest electronics corporation in Japan. It is in his honor that the birthday party is held that the hostages attend and that the terrorists invade. Mr. Hosokawa is a workaholic who’s greatest love is opera music. His love began when he attended a performance with his father as a child. His only reason to attend the party was to hear the performance of Roxane Coss whose beautiful singing voice he has lusted after for many years.

Main Characters Roxane Coss Is an internationally renowned American Soprano. Roxane is invited to perform at the party because the host country wanted to convince Mr. Hosokawa to attend the party. She is a petite woman in her late thirties with dyed blonde hair. While not gorgeous in the usual sense, she possesses a rare charisma that makes every man who witnesses her exquisite voice to fall in love with her to some extent. She is kept hostage even after all other woman are freed.

Main Characters Gen Watanabe Is Mr. Hosokawa’s translator and assistant. Gen is a quiet, sensitive and gifted young man who speaks all the major languages and many minor ones. He is commonly at the center of action in the novel since most of the multi-national characters communicate through him. He cares deeply for Mr. Hosokawa, and though the other characters rely on him, he feels different from the rest of the hostages as he is the only one among them (besides the priest) who is not rich and powerful.

Main Characters Carmen Is one of only two girls in the group of terrorists. She is also the terrorist who Gen falls in love with. Carmen remains anonymous in the disguise of a male terrorist for the first part of the novel. She is a Quechua-speaking Indian girl from the jungle who often prays to Saint Rose of Lima.

Main Events The most important main event is when the guests become hostages. When Miss Coss ends the song the lights go out and the terrorists crawl through the air vents and take the guests hostage even though the man they are looking for (the president of South America) is not there.

Main Events Letting them go is the second main event. This was when the terrorists decided who would be kept and who would leave. All women were let go except for Roxane Coss. Anyone who was sick was also allowed to go. Roxane’s accompanist stayed behind even though he has diabetes which people find out later on.

Main Events When the piano is played. By this time the terrorists have become slack with their duties. They’ve become comfortable and no longer lay down their rules as much as they had in the beginning. The Generals let the priest make a phone call to get sheet music for Roxane. When they do get the music it’s about finding someone to play it. A businessman who works alongside Mr. Hosokawa steps up and shows everyone his hidden talent of playing the piano.

Main Events Relationships. Relationships start to happen, the sisterly bond that Carmen and Roxane start to share. The connection that Roxane and Mr. Hosokawa have. Meetings that start to take place between Carmen and Gen. One night Carmen asks Gen if he could teach her English and Gen agrees. This is when nightly English lessons begin to take place in the china closet.

Main Events The garden. This is one of my favorite main events in the book. Early in the morning, before anyone has woken up, Carmen takes Gen outside into the back garden. They sit under the stars and in that moment Carmen completely trusts Gen to not try to get away, and Gen doesn’t even try to. The next day Roxane convinces the Generals to take everyone outside. By now, the terrorists and hostages have been lulled into imagining that they are all one big happy family.

The Title Opera is often used in the story to draw the characters together. During the terrorists and hostages’ time in the house, they are forced to think and reflect, and the thing they most reflect on is Roxane’s music. The name of the story, “Bel Canto” is an operatic term meaning “beautiful singing”. The term has come to refer to a particular type of Italian opera that was popular in the early nineteenth century. The style is known for it’s lyricism and vocal virtuosity, and is best represented by the works of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini.

Setting Most of the book takes place in the Vice President’s house which is a two-story mansion in South America. On the first floor is the living room, which is a large space where the hostages are gathered. Surrounding the house is a garden with a ten-foot wall. The garden was prepared for the party and contained many beautiful plants. In December 1996, fourteen members of the Tupac Amaru guerrilla group entered the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima, Peru, seized nearly 600 hostages and demanded the release of a number of political prisoners. Bel Canto is loosely inspired by this event. It is never clearly stated in the book what year the book takes place in but it is guessed that it is set in the 90’s.

Genre/Themes Bel Canto is a fictional romance novel that includes thriller. The proximity of death and suffering makes people love more passionately. We learn that Mr. Hosokawa’s love for opera grew from his hard life in post-World War II Japan. Simon and Edith Thibault renew their love for each other in what they call a “godforsaken country.” In the center of it all, the hostages and the terrorists grow to love one another in the face of death and danger. The characters must live for the moment, since their situation is uncertain and death could come at any time. They find that under these circumstances, they crave love and friendship. The shadow of death that hangs over them also sharpens the characters’ appreciation of beauty and art.

My Favorite Quotes “Most of the time we’re loved for what we can do rather than who we are.” “Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it.” “Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see.”

Bel Canto The proximity of death makes people love more passionately Daniel Michelle Diane Henney Rodriguez Kruger Based on the critically acclaimed novel

Final Thoughts Reading this book really made me understand how people who are complete opposites can fall in love. This book is a prime example of Stockholm Syndrome. Everyone (that I know of) including myself doesn’t understand how someone who has been captured or kidnapped could turn and become sympathetic for their captors. This book clearly portrays the amazing relationships made between hostage and terrorist. I found this book riveting, the description used is very in-depth and the author really makes you think. The author writes in such a way that you feel what the characters are feeling, hear what they are hearing and experience the beauty shown throughout the book.

Thank you for watching! Instrumental Music: Lord of The Rings- The Hobbit Cello/Piano Cover by The Piano Guys