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kmcardle03's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so full of beautiful music and humanity. The characters felt so entirely full in the smallest of worlds. The exploration of language and communication, the desire to be loved and appreciated, the impossible goal of neutrality, all of it was intricately woven into the tale. It was so easy to forget there is a world outside.
jmstru's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
joaniesickler's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Knew about it for a while and wasn't real interested in the story - an international group of wealthy businessmen, along with the opera star who sang for their dinner entertainment, are kidnapped and held by a band of South American country terrorists. It's a wonderful, touching, human story of love and music and communication. Especially loved the cooking scene.
jesshaswell's review against another edition
2.0
i normally love ann patchett but sadly i don't think the third person omniscient narration thing was working for her. it felt unnecessarily disjointed and i often found myself having to go back to make sure i was correct about who a particular paragraph was referring to.
she somehow managed to make a story about a hostage situation entirely dull, and while it was clearly meant to be character driven, i simply did not care enough about any of the characters for it to be effective. i all but forced myself to finish this because i kept waiting for it to get better but sadly the last half of the book felt like even more of a slog than the first. like all of patchett's novels, it was very well written, but i think this one just wasn't for me.
she somehow managed to make a story about a hostage situation entirely dull, and while it was clearly meant to be character driven, i simply did not care enough about any of the characters for it to be effective. i all but forced myself to finish this because i kept waiting for it to get better but sadly the last half of the book felt like even more of a slog than the first. like all of patchett's novels, it was very well written, but i think this one just wasn't for me.
jordyn_lightyear's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
killerlouise's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
3.0
Loved 99% of this book - good character development, liked the interspersal of music, an interesting plot set-up.... all good until the last couple of pages. Hated the ending!!! I actually read it over a few times to see if I was missing something. Boo :(
macreader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5