Bel Canto

Winner of the 2002 Orange Prize for Fiction, this is a literary novel that grips as firmly as any thriller. In Latin America a group of terrorists take over an international gathering, only to discover their intended target, the president, is at home watching a soap opera. With their plan in ruins General Alfredo assaults the Vice President and allows a sick hostage to die. But these are unusual terrorists, described by the Red Cross negotiator as unprofessional. They feel grief at the death and are as trapped as their hostages as the inevitable end draws near. The siege leads to the formation of surprising liaisons between captives and terrorists. Roxanne Coss, an American diva, meets her biggest fan, Japanese industrialist Mr Hosokawa, and the two fall in love. His translator, Gen, starts to teach one of the terrorists, the gentle and beautiful Carmen, and they begin a passionate relationship. This very disparate group are forced into constructing their own, new society and for all concerned the experience becomes one of personal discovery. It is in the everyday details of their lives that the book excels. With the deftest of touches Patchett brings her characters to such convincing life that the reader follows their actions with rapt attention. At the heart of the book is the belief in the inherent goodness of mankind; of the desire to be one's best self. This is represented by the beautiful singing - bel canto - of Roxanne, who entertains them throughout their captivity. When removed from their everyday lives people have the ability to respond to art and be transformed by it. Gen translates languages for captors and hostages but ultimately it is Roxanne who shows us how to let go of the literal meaning of words and rely on the truth of our emotions. (Kirkus UK)