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Bel Canto

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Bel Canto

Written by: Ann Patchett
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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About this listen

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Winner of the Orange Prize • National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist • New York Times Readers’ Pick: Top 100 Books of the 21st Century

"Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." —Washington Post Book World

New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett’s spellbinding novel about love and opera, and the unifying ways people learn to communicate across cultural barriers in times of crisis

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.

Patchett's lyrical prose and lucid imagination makeBel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.

 Fiction Genre Fiction Psychological Romance
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With so many people from so many countries it was difficult to remember who was who in an audible presentation. It would be easier to understand in a reading format. Excellent story line and characters

Hostage .

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This novel provides a vision of humanity at its best and worst, and everything in between. Using a translator as the primary way to narrate the story of many people, all in extreme situations, Ann Patchett manages to look at love, hate,suffering, compassion... most emotions known to humankind. One heck of a great listen!

A brilliant vision

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What a magnificent read/listen this book prove to be. The author is ingenious in her character development and the plot line. She has a wonders vocabulary and uses it brilliantly. There are several surprise moments in the book, adding an entirely different elements to the experience of listening to it Intelligently thought out and written

Bella Bella

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A story that sinks it's claws into you and does not let you go till the last word.

My favourite novel

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This book came highly recommended by one of my best bookish friends, but I took a long time coming around to it. It began slow and I was initially unsure about it but the beautiful language captured me. I have to say that the ending left my very emotional which speaks to the quality of Patchett's writing. I was so connected to the characters that I felt as they felt: that their situation could continue, unchanged. Of course, things must change. I will not reveal how it does but it is worth a listen! Anna Fields' performance was admirable, especially as she had many accents to master. I did listen at 1.25 as I found her pace was a little deliberate at times.

Worth a listen but prepare for tears

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