Carl’s Reviews > Bel Canto > Status Update
Carl
is on page 180 of 318
Credit to Patchett for making us all think—even fleetingly—“Huh, maybe it *would* be nice to be kidnapped by South American revolutionaries.”
— 4 hours, 37 min ago
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Carl
is on page 139 of 318
“There’s good news” and “nothing could be trouble at this point” (ch.5): as the hostage crisis grinds with no end in sight, Patchett seems to have intentionally diluted the sense of conflict and danger. Given our sympathy with the innocent hostages, this should be a good thing, but it also risks a devolution into banal tedium. Would it be immoral for a reader to hope for just a wee bit of violence?
— Sep 18, 2026 03:34PM