Bel Canto A Novel. Winner of the Orange Prize 2002 and The PEN/Faulkner Award 2002

'A beguiling mix of thriller, romantic comedy, and novel of ideas...Crisply written, immaculately plotted, and often very funny, it is that rarity - a literary novel you simply can't put down.' The Times

'Like the blueprint of operatic performance that she has imported, Patchett slides from strutting camp to high tragedy, minute social comedy to sublime romanticism.' Alex Clark, Guardian

'Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction. Comparisons are tempting to the unabashed romanticism of Laurie Colwin, the eccentric characters of Anne Tyler, the enchantments of Alice Hoffman. But Patchett is unique; a generous, fearless and startlingly wise young writer.' New York Times Review of Books