Bel Canto Annotated Edition

Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.

"Bel Canto is its own universe. A marvel of a book." - Washington Post Book World

"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

"One approaches the final pages with a heavy heart for several reasons, not the least of which being that this fine read has come to an end." - Entertainment Weekly (A-)

"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

"Patchett's ability to evoke sense of place. . .is near magical in itself." - Publishers Weekly

"A novel that showcases Patchett's profound understanding of the heart." - BookForum

"This fluid and assured narrative, inspired by a real incident, demonstrates her growing maturity and mastery of form as she artfully integrates a musical theme within a dramatic story." - Publisher's Weekly

"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

"A strange, terrific, spellcasting story." - San Francisco Chronicle

"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