Synopsis

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different countries and continents become compatriots.

Without the demands of the world to shape their days, life on the inside becomes more beautiful than anything they had ever known before. At once riveting and impassioned, the narrative becomes a moving exploration of how people communicate when music is the only common language. Friendship, compassion, and the chance for great love lead the characters to forget the real danger that has been set in motion and cannot be stopped.

My thoughts:

***Possible Spoilers***

I thought the writing was very good and I did like the premise of the story, however, some things just seemed a little too unrealistic for me. I've heard of Stockholm Syndrome and understand that there are instances where captors and their hostages bond, but with so many people cooped up in the same house together for that long, it just seems like someone at some point would try to escape or cause some problems. If their were fewer people in the house, it would have made more sense to me. I know the captors had guns, but when they slacked off on guard duty, you would think someone would take advantage of that. Also, I can't see any government letting a hostage situation go on that long. They would have came up with some type of resolution much sooner. My last complaint is about the epilogue. I think I would have enjoyed the book way more if the epilogue wasn't included. It just didn't feel right to me at all.

I do get the whole "see how music brings people together even when they can't communicate" thing and it's an interesting premise, I just didn't buy the whole captor/hostage family-like relationship. Add a few believable confrontations and I think this book would have been amazing.