"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
In Bel Canto the
power of music is truly revealed. In a Vice-Presidential mansion in South
America, a group of terrorists take over an extravagant party and take everyone
inside hostage. What started out as a tense situation with terrorists shoving
guns in guests faces slowly unfolded over several months into a magical realm
of spell-bounding music, unlikely friendships, and even love. Life outside the
garden wall ceased to exist, in the minds of the terrorists and hostages alike.
They came to think only of the present moment, forgetting the past and pushing aside any thought of the
future. Hard terrorists were softened. Terrorists and hostages searched
themselves and found courage to explore sides of them that were being
suppressed, hidden from the world. The barriers to their 'best selves' were
indeed hurdled and forgotten. Perhaps more importantly, the barriers put up
between people and their differences simply vanished. Terrorists and hostages
formed bonds with one another. Physical language became unnecessary; two people
could find love even if they spoke different languages. This destruction of barriers was mostly due to the music. The time inside the mansion can be thought of
in two ways: the time before the music and the time after the music. Once the
beautiful music filled their heads every morning, it was as if every person in the house was put into a dream-state. Their minds began to cloud over, as
if the music was hypnotizing or brainwashing them. Even when the fog outside
lifted, enabling them to physically see more and be reminded of the outside
world, the music acted as an invisible fog that clouded their ability to
rationalize clearly. Even the smartest hostages became blind to the imminent
danger that stared them in the face, blinded by the music and the love they
were feeling. By the end of the book captors and captives alike
imagine, fantasize, and even pray that they can stay in the luxurious mansion
forever, living peacefully with one another and making new lives for themselves.
It is this music-induced mystified stupor that ultimately leads to the tragic
downfall of characters we come to know and love.
I had to read this book my freshman year of college at Canisius and it is in my top three favorite books. I just finished re-reading it and I really wanted to write about it. If you love music, opera, language--you will love this book. It is an adult fiction novel and can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of gender, musical literacy, etc. I had my copy signed by the author when she came to Canisius, so needless to say, this book is probably one of my most prized possessions at the moment.
