Bel Canto Annotated Edition - by Ann Patchett (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"A book that works both as a paean to art and beauty and a subtly sly comedy of manners."--Janet Maslin, New York Times

A beautifully designed edition of number-one New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett's prized classic, annotated and with an introduction by the author herself.

"Tremendous fun... Rereading this terrific novel with [Patchett]... is a master class in fiction writing conveyed in marginalia that has the tone of an ideal dinner conversation." --Ron Charles, The Washington Post

First published in 2001, Bel Canto is possibly Ann Patchett's most beloved novel. Set in an unnamed South American country, at the home of the vice president, it is the story of a lavish birthday party honoring Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has enthralled the international guests with a mesmerizing performance. The evening is perfect--until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But in Patchett's skilled hands, 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. 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.

Now, more than two decades after this bold and artistically daring novel's debut, Patchett revisits her early work. In this special annotated edition, the acclaimed prize-winning author opens the story to readers, providing enlightening commentary on her original version, including reflections on her narrative choices and style. A mature writer looking back at her younger self, Patchett takes us deep into her creative process and considers her career and growth as an artist, from that novel to her most recent, Tom Lake.

Funny, full of insight, informal, and often unexpectedly moving, this annotated edition is an intimate encounter with a celebrated novelist, an opportunity to reconsider a great work through her eyes, and a guide for anyone who wants to understand how a novel takes form.

Review Quotes

"Ann Patchett can be counted on to deliver novels rich in imaginative bravado and psychological nuance." - Publishers Weekly
"Bel Canto invites readers to explore new and unfamiliar territory, to take some emotional risks rather than stand with Rolland among those 'already saved.'" - Chicago Tribune
"In more ways than one, Bel Canto is about finding beauty in unexpected places." - New York Magazine
"The author has taken what could have been a variation on the Lord of the Flies scenario and fashions instead a 'Lord of the Butterflies, ' a dreamlike fable in which the impulses toward beauty and love are shown to be as irrepressible as the instincts for violence and destruction." - New York Magazine
"Patchett can be counted on to deliver novels rich in imaginative bravado and psychological nuance." - Publishers Weekly
"You'll find a few hours of entertainment and maybe even a strange yearning to be kidnapped." - Time Out New York
"Handwritten notes in the margins reveal the kind of insider tidbits you didn't even know you were dying to know....A conversation about a masterpiece...with the actual master." - Oprah Magazine
"A fascinating look into an author's mind [that] will make for such a unique reading experience." - The Skimm
"Patchett's tragicomic novel--a fantasia of guns and Puccini and Red Cross negotiations--invokes the glorious, unreliable promises of art, politics, and love." - The New Yorker
"Bel Canto has all the qualities one has come to expect from a classic Ann Patchett novel: grace, beauty, elegance, and magic." - Madison Smartt Bell
"Positively spellbinding." - Seattle Times
"Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." - Washington Post Book World
"Provocative and enchanting." - Detroit Free Press
"Tremendous fun... Rereading this terrific novel with [Patchett]... is a master class in fiction writing conveyed in marginalia that has the tone of an ideal dinner conversation." - The Washington Post
"Combining an unerring instinct for telling detail with the broader brushstrokes you need to tackle issues of culture and politics, Patchett creates a remarkably compelling chronicle of a multinational group of the rich and powerful held hostage for months." - Kirkus Reviews
"A provocative and enchanting look at the power art has to suspend real life and to create a better world, one in which the differences between people can be erased and the barriers to our best selves can be hurdled." - Detroit Free Press
"A novel that showcases Patchett's profound understanding of the heart." - BookForum
"Bel Canto by Ann Patchett should be on the list of every literate music lover. The story is riveting, the participants breathe and feel and are alive, and throughout this elegantly-told novel, music pours forth so splendidly that the reader hears it and is overwhelmed by its beauty. Ann Patchett is a special writer who has written a special book." - WXQR
"Patchett doing what she does best--what gives this novel its power is Patchett's flair for sketching the subtleties of her characters' behavior." - New York Times Book Review
"A strange, terrific, spellcasting story." - San Francisco Chronicle