Word: bel
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From its title, which translates to “beautiful song,” and its cover, which features elegantly dressed party goers, it is nearly impossible to guess that Ann Patchett’s “Bel Canto” is a novel about terrorism. But perhaps that’s because “Bel Canto” is so far from the typical book on terrorism...
Which isn’t to say that language is irrelevant: as the title suggests, Patchett’s writing has its own musical quality. From the first sentence to the last, “Bel Canto” flows so beautifully that it is quite possible to read it in one sitting. Patchett’s descriptions are so vivid that by the end, the reader feels intimately connected not only with the hostages, but also with the terrorists...
Indeed, much of what makes “Bel Canto” so engaging is the attention Patchett gives to the terrorists. Instead of portraying them as an unidentifiable mass of evil, Patchett writes about them as individuals, presenting their struggles alongside those of their hostages. With their initial plan foiled, the terrorists no longer have a course of action and struggle to agree about what they want. Though they have a general attitude of “working to free the people,” they are lost on what that specifically means...
...security executives were arrested for allegedly heading a ring of illegal phone tapping. (No evidence has emerged that the bugging was linked to talks over Telecom's future.) Taken together, it has been a cold reminder that Sistema Italia, the totality of how economics and politics functions in the bel paese, is still a cumbersome load of conflicts of interest and arcane maneuverings that drag down the country and scare away foreign investors. Prodi's behavior has been especially heavy-handed. In the midst of back-and-forth bickering about what the Telecom chief had told him, Prodi authorized...
...social impact, Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission talked about heading the U.N. genocide investigation in Rwanda. Audience members rose to describe a trip they had taken there. The weekend ended in the Cheyenne Lodge with a family worship service led by Mark Brewer of California's Bel Air Presbyterian Church. He was Ronald Reagan's last pastor, now ministering to a group hungry to amplify Reagan's spirit...