bel canto  <p><strong>winner of the pen/faulkner award • winner of the orange prize • national book critics circle award finalist</strong></p><p><strong>"<em>bel canto</em> is its own universe. a marvel of a book." —<em>washington post book world</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>new york times</em> 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</strong></p><p>somewhere in south america, at the home of the country&apos;s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman mr. hosokawa. roxanne coss, opera&apos;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.</p><p>patchett&apos;s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make <em>bel canto </em>a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.</p>