"Bel Canto" - Ann Patchett

I heard Ann Patchett being interviewed on mpr, and I felt really drawn to the conversation and to her. She seemed like a terribly thoughtful person. A large part of the conversation was about her friendship with Lucy Grealy and the books that the two of them wrote about their lives and relationships. I then went to amazon.com, my auxiliary brain, and read up on the books. Something about the description of "Bel Canto" made me hesititate to read it. I'm not sure what it was; perhaps it's the nature of a single-paragraph description of the plot, to make the whole thing seem a little impersonal. However, my cousin told me that her good friend recommended it highly and I was able to get it on CD from the library.

I loved it. I will definitely read more Ann Patchett; she writes in such a seamless fashion and I was so drawn in to the lives and the world of the characters. To summarize the plot ever so briefly, a group of important people are held hostage by South American terrorists. I particularly enjoyed the play of languages; the cast of characters includes Americans, Russians, a Frenchman, several Japanese, and a majority of Spanish-speakers. One of the Japanese characters is a very accomplished translator, and his role in the delicate situation of hostages and captors is an incredibly important one. But it's the subtlety of nationality and language that really fascinates; the ways in which the characters communicate without common languages, and the ways in which a certain behavior in a Russian man means something different than that same behavior in a Japanese man. The demands placed on the translator, and the ways in which this changes the dynamics of relationships. The forced intimacy of hostages and captors.

So beautifully written.