Try free for 30 days
-
Bel Canto
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Bel Canto
Buy Now for $26.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also picked
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Plea for Cutting For Stone!
- By karenf on 14-05-2023
-
The Poisonwood Bible
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Dean Robertson
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 339
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 305
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 305
The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You will be mesmerised and scandalised and find yourself exultant and indignant by turns
- By Philip on 18-09-2016
-
A Prayer for Owen Meany
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 27 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Out-standing novel!
- By Wendy on 18-03-2016
-
When God Was a Rabbit
- By: Sarah Winman
- Narrated by: Sarah Winman
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Young Elly's world is shaped by those who inhabit it: her loving but maddeningly distractible parents; a best friend who smells of chips and knows exotic words like 'slag'; an ageing fop who tapdances his way into her home, a Shirley Bassey impersonator who trails close behind; lastly, of course, a rabbit called God. In a childhood peppered with moments both ordinary and extraordinary, Elly's one constant is her brother Joe. Twenty years on, Elly and Joe are fully grown and as close as they ever were. Until, that is, an earth-shattering event that threatens to destroy their bond for ever.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By toni jackson on 07-01-2024
-
The Glass House
- A Novel of Mental Health
- By: Anne Buist, Graeme Simsion
- Narrated by: Edwina Wren
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
Psychiatry registrar Doctor Hannah Wright, a country girl with a chaotic history, thought she had seen it all in the emergency room. But that was nothing compared to the psychiatric ward at Menzies Hospital. Hannah must learn on the job in a strained medical system, as she and her fellow trainees deal with the common and the bizarre, the hilarious and the tragic, the treatable and the confronting.
-
Your Song Changed My Life
- From Jimmy Page to St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson to Hozier, Thirty-Five Beloved Artists on Their Journey and the Music That Inspired It
- By: Bob Boilen
- Narrated by: Bob Boilen
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4
From the beloved host and creator of NPR's All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts comes an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of iconic and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brownstein, Smokey Robinson, and Jeff Tweedy, among others - published in association with NPR Music.
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 131
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 131
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Plea for Cutting For Stone!
- By karenf on 14-05-2023
-
The Poisonwood Bible
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Dean Robertson
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 339
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 305
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 305
The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
You will be mesmerised and scandalised and find yourself exultant and indignant by turns
- By Philip on 18-09-2016
-
A Prayer for Owen Meany
- By: John Irving
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 27 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
Of all of John Irving's books, this is the one that lends itself best to audio. In print, Owen Meany's dialogue is set in capital letters; for this production, Irving himself selected Joe Barrett to deliver Meany's difficult voice as intended. In the summer of 1953, two 11-year-old boys – best friends – are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary and terrifying.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Out-standing novel!
- By Wendy on 18-03-2016
-
When God Was a Rabbit
- By: Sarah Winman
- Narrated by: Sarah Winman
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Young Elly's world is shaped by those who inhabit it: her loving but maddeningly distractible parents; a best friend who smells of chips and knows exotic words like 'slag'; an ageing fop who tapdances his way into her home, a Shirley Bassey impersonator who trails close behind; lastly, of course, a rabbit called God. In a childhood peppered with moments both ordinary and extraordinary, Elly's one constant is her brother Joe. Twenty years on, Elly and Joe are fully grown and as close as they ever were. Until, that is, an earth-shattering event that threatens to destroy their bond for ever.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By toni jackson on 07-01-2024
-
The Glass House
- A Novel of Mental Health
- By: Anne Buist, Graeme Simsion
- Narrated by: Edwina Wren
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
Psychiatry registrar Doctor Hannah Wright, a country girl with a chaotic history, thought she had seen it all in the emergency room. But that was nothing compared to the psychiatric ward at Menzies Hospital. Hannah must learn on the job in a strained medical system, as she and her fellow trainees deal with the common and the bizarre, the hilarious and the tragic, the treatable and the confronting.
-
Your Song Changed My Life
- From Jimmy Page to St. Vincent, Smokey Robinson to Hozier, Thirty-Five Beloved Artists on Their Journey and the Music That Inspired It
- By: Bob Boilen
- Narrated by: Bob Boilen
- Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4
From the beloved host and creator of NPR's All Songs Considered and Tiny Desk Concerts comes an essential oral history of modern music, told in the voices of iconic and up-and-coming musicians, including Dave Grohl, Jimmy Page, Michael Stipe, Carrie Brownstein, Smokey Robinson, and Jeff Tweedy, among others - published in association with NPR Music.
Publisher's Summary
“Blissfully Romantic.... A strange, terrific, spellcasting story.” (San Francisco Chronicle)
“Bel Canto...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.” (Lloyd Moss, WXQR)
“Glorious.” (The New Yorker)
Ann Patchett’s award winning, New York Times best-selling Bel Canto balances themes of love and crisis as disparate characters learn that music is their only common language. As in Pratchett’s other novels, including Truth & Beauty and The Magician’s Assistant, the author’s lyrical prose and lucid imagination make Bel Canto a captivating story of strength and frailty, love and imprisonment, and an inspiring tale of transcendent romance.
Critic Reviews
- 2002 Orange Prize for Fiction
- Book Sense Book of the Year Award Winner, Paperback, 2003
- PEN/Faulkner Award Winner, 2002
"Patchett can be counted on to deliver novels rich in imaginative bravado and psychological nuance. This fluid and assured narrative...demonstrates her growing maturity and mastery of form." (Publishers Weekly)
"Mixing art and politics can have unexpected results, but rarely are they so poignant....[Anna Fields'] performance is the essence of Bel Canto, easy, pure of tone, with an agile, precise vocal technique." (AudioFile)
More from the same
What listeners say about Bel Canto
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 26-01-2023
Loved it.
Almost didn’t listen as didn’t like the intro by the narrator. But loved this book and it’s cast of characters and the plot development . Will read more from this author who I had heard of but never read /listen before.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Felicity
- 20-10-2018
A wonderful human story
This is a spell-binding book of great beauty and humanity. Definitely either read it or listen to it. I wasn't as in love with the epilogue as with the rest of the book, but so be it. I found the narrator's voice grating at first, but I grew to like it. Perhaps I was just wrapped up in the story. This is a story to make you fall in love with books all over again.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-05-2020
Bel Canto
I read this book years ago and wondered what it would be like to listen to. It was just as beautiful and just as tragic. This is a story that will stay with you. The relationships that develop between the hijackers and their captives are so believable and in the end make you ache with sadness.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Belinda
- 01-11-2023
A Wonderful Listen
I have been on an Ann Patchett run and this didn’t disappoint. Very surprised to see some negative reviews about the narration as I thought it was fabulous. Very much enjoyed it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 30-05-2022
Great book
This is the second book by Patchett that I’ve read and really enjoyed. She works through situations and characters so deftly and also with much humour. The book builds and builds. Don’t be fooled by a slightly slow start. It’s a great book!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance2 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lulu-in-NZ
- 27-10-2023
Narrator killed it (& not in a good way)
Beautifully written but really struggled with the narrator, couldn’t hold my attention with the lack of variety in voices and expression. Such a shame, I missed so much because of it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Georgina
- 16-02-2020
Beautiful story
This was not my usual genre but wow what a fabulous book. A rich story and read so beautifully.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alexis SHOREHILL
- 25-05-2021
read this!
brilliant book read brilliantly by Anna Fields. I loved it. highly recommended! so so good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reading Woman
- 14-07-2023
Setting and character beautifully complementary.
Ann Patchett’s skill as a writer is breathtaking. The reader is transported into that house with all the characters - their needs and wants crashing into each other. A masterful exploration of humanity.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Marita
- 02-03-2024
Thoughtful
An interesting theme, albeit a bit contrived. A bunch of interesting characters, with plenty of insight into what makes them tick. but I wasn't sorry to get to the end.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
