Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett

Inspired by a real event in 1996 in Lima, Peru, Ann Patchett enthralls us with a story that takes place in an unnamed South American country. A world-renowned soprano sings at a birthday party in honor of a visiting Japanese industrial titan. His hosts hope that Mr. Hosokawa can be persuaded to build a factory in their Third World backwater. Alas, in the opening sequence, just as the accompanist kisses the soprano, a ragtag band of 18 terrorists enters the vice-presidential mansion through the air conditioning ducts. Their quarry is the president, who has unfortunately stayed home to watch a favorite soap opera. And thus, from the beginning, things go awry.

With the omniscience of magic realism, Ann Patchett flits in and out of the hearts and psyches of hostage and terrorist alike, and in doing so reveals a profound, shared humanity. 

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

Join us this Thursday, May 18th, at 7:00pm for a conversation about an astonishing book by Timothy Egan, The Big Burn. We will meet at Claire Lending's and Murray Bennett's house, 3195 Cliffside Drive, Bellingham. If you have questions, please get in touch with Jan Cavitt, jadacad@gmail.com.

Egan narrates the 1910 struggles of the newly formed, overmatched forest rangers against an implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, who pioneered the notion of 'conservation.' Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen.