Bel Canto
Ann Patchett
"It's about a poor nation which is trying to woo a Japanese industrialist, and the only way that they've been able to - 'cause he's sort of a recluse and he has very specific tastes - the only way that they've been able to woo him and bring him to this country is to hire his favorite singer to come to a birthday dinner. So it's a birthday evening event, and all hells breaks loose. They are held hostage.
I do think you're either gonna love it or hate it because the subject matter is very, very specific, and it's about - it has a lot to do with music; the person who wrote it obviously did their research, and they know a lot about music. Music is like a language, so if you speak that language, then you can read the book. If you don't speak the language, it's not going to probably engage you in the same way.
I wouldn't say it's totally gripping, I think it loses momentum about halfway through; but it's a romance, and I have a little soft spot for romances - not on the sort of florid terms, but when there's a genuine attraction that by definite is a difficult attraction, I like that.
I appreciated that it was about music and that the focus was about music. I felt like some of the peripheral story was a little weak. The writing is good, but it's not amazing I don't think. It's unbelievable, but I'd give it a 3½ star rating."
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