The Art of Hearing Heartbeats: A Novel

This book is a wonderfully special treasure. A book about the strength of love, and the pull it has, over distance and over years, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats captivated me from the start and didn't let me go, and now I can't stop thinking about it. Don't you love books like that? Just shortly after her graduation from law school, Julia Win's steadfastly reliable father, a successful attorney in his own right, disappears without a trace. Although he told his family he was meeting a client in Boston, his trail ends in Bangkok, and no further evidence can be found. One day, in a box of her father's things, Julia finds a letter her father wrote more than 50 years before to a woman in Burma, a woman Julia never heard of before. Determined to find out who this woman was, and where her father might have gone, Julia leaves home and work and heads to Burma (now Myanmar), to this woman's village. She has no idea what she'll find, and what she uncovers is a story about overcoming grief and sadness, the beauty of the senses, and the amazing power of love. The book cuts back and forth between the present and the Burma of the 1940s and 50s. I had never heard of this book until I saw it on Amazon's list of February's best books. I was worried that the story might be too sappy, too precious to enjoy, but I was proven wrong. While romance is at the heart of the book (no pun intended), there are so many other things at play as well--happiness, sadness, betrayal, courage--that I was completely immersed. Jan-Philipp Sendker has created a memorable story with wonderful characters whose vividness had me seeing their story unfold before my eyes. I really loved this book.

Edited bc html didn't translate!! Overall, a great book and a great read. There were a few issues, but overall I really enjoyed it. I typically do not read books that are touted as "poignant" and "inspirational" ... least of all "love story." Even less, a book where someone is discovering the hidden life of someone they love, which *apparently* (according to the back) involves infidelity, and which involves "the power of love to move mountains." brrp. sorry just threw up in my mouth a little. Yeah. so, not my kind of book. But it's a book group book, so I give it my full attention and an open mind. And it was GOOD. From the beginning. It drew me in and kept me there. It's a fast read and an engaging plot. Let me describe it a little: Meet privileged family, in big city in America, at sudden disappearance of the father (Tin Win) of the family. Understand that the family knows nothing of the father's first 20 years of his life and that it seems to be some kind of grand mystery. Know that the father is a very successful lawyer who hails from some faraway foreign land. And then travel with the early-20s daughter (Julia), a newly minted lawyer herself, to Burma to discovery "the truth" of her father. Enter strange old man (U Ba) who seems to know every thought, emotion, and intimate part of Tin Win's life and the life of the woman he apparently loved from his mid-teens until approximately 20. And discover Burma and the Burmese, blindness and discovery, and struggle and heartache with Julia as she begins to learn "the truth" about her father. Sendker made Burma come alive, made the Burmese insistence on belief in astrology interesting, and made the reader desire to learn the art of hearing heartbeats. It was so **interesting**! It was so well paced and the characters were so well drawn! I loved the varying perspectives we managed to get. I loved the scenery and the thoughts. I loved the peripheral characters. I even liked MiMi and Tin Win and wanted to believe in their love. So what didn't I like? HUGE SPOILERS HEREIN: SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER: I did not like that U Ba not only knew the intimate (and I mean _intimate_) details of Tin Win and MiMi's lives, but that the *shared* them with Tin Win's *daughter*?! That was probably my biggest beef. But since we're on spoiler-alert here anyway, I also didn't like (_really_ didn't like!) that somehow Julia was just hunky-dory with the fact that her father supposedly had this undying amazing love for Mi Mi, somehow also loved her mother and his family, and that that was all just ok. I didn't like that Tin Win was selfish enough to find a new family in America, and selfish enough to hold so ardently onto his feelings for Mi Mi. And I didn't like that he was selfish enough to "choose" to die and leave his son, his daughter, and even his wife without any note, explanation, or apology. His only "note" was the story he told his other son, and that was supposed to be sufficient. And then they were celebrated?! I get that Julia was trying to recognize cultural differences and allow for more than 1 kind of love... but what he did to both of his sons and his daughter, not even paying any attention to the two women, I don't think that's loving. It's self-focused. SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER END SPOILERS But aside from not liking the PERSON all that much, and/or his decisions, I liked the STORY, and I thought it was well told. Very well told. And I definitely recommend the book! FOUR of five stars. This and other reviews can be found at AllBookReviewer.blogspot.com

Fabulous story - great read.

This was an absolutely lovely book. I enjoyed it very much. It was hard to put down. I learnt so much about the Burmese culture from this book. It is a love story between two characters who have not let their adversity prevent them from loving each other. I won't spoil it for you by telling you the issues they faced, its well worth the read to find out. Its not the typical nauseating love story, about the guy with the chiseled body who saves the beautiful girl by falling in love with her. None of that "romance" here. The themes of loyalty, courage, dedication and of course love run through this book. I was held captive by the storyline and the style of writing from the beginning. Despite being a love story, there is a tinge of sadness, but as one of my favourite quotes from this book says "Life, ..., is a gift full of riddles in which suffering and happiness are inextricably intertwined. Any attempt to have one without the other was simply bound to fail".

I always say that book groups, whether in person or online, are of my favorite parts of reading. And more often than I expected, the books which are chosen for book groups are ones I've either already read or didn't choose to read on my own for various reasons. But as I always say, a commitment is a commitment and I could not attend a book group meeting without reading or at the very lease skimming the book. And there are times when a book group forces me to leave my comfort level and read a book I might not necessarily read on my own. A funny thing happened, though, at my last book club meeting. A member suggested we read The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and I thought, oh no. To begin with, what I read about the book didn't appeal to me and then it was a translated book of fiction which I usually have a problem reading. But again, I had to read the book and I must admit that I really did enjoy the characters, plots and writing. Without reiterating the storyline which many have already done, I am so glad that I did read this book. It was a really good read and one which I would wholeheartedly suggest to others. Although it appears that I gave this book 4 stars, it would have been 4+, of Amazon allowed this. Finally after kissing several frogs, I got to kiss a real price of a book.

First, let me say that thar I am a sucker for a book with good reviews. We do not judge books by their covers any more. Nope. We've cone along way in the world of literature for now we judge an authors work based solely off the opinions of others, those who came before us. Okay, I am being as dramatic as Sendkler. I was expecting fireworks, like a 4th of July celebration, but what I got was a memorial day cookout at a retirement home. Again, a bit dramatic but you get my drift. Deep within the book are some bits of genius, even brilliance perhaps as Sendkler puts into motion concepts of human emotions otherwise virtually impossible to portray in a genuine light without some form of divine brilliance seen only in the mist gifted story tellers. Sendkler also clearly understands the beauty of such a burden a writer carries with him. While his story leaves me wanting for more of a conclusion to it all and perhaps even longing for a bit more excitement, I respect it nonetheless for the true artpeice it really is. Sappy? Quite. Predictable? Only slightly. Still, it is a love story at the heart of it all; a true, real, genuine love story. Sendkler does an amazing job at highlighting the good out of the bad in life. The "life's not fair, life's not perfect, but imperfection is beautiful in human" message is dominant throughout. Depending upon your beliefs, this one is very touching regardless of its downfalls. Worth the read, but don't buy into all the "good review" hype. Leave your skyhigh expectations at the prelude and all shall be well.

Jan-Philipp Sendker is a master storyteller, bringing us one incredible tale for the ages. This is a love story. A sort Burmese Romeo and Juliette love story. Only, in the beginning we know not where the story is going. We meet Julia Win when she is sitting in some run down teahouse in Kalaw, Burma. There she is approached by an older man, U Ba who asks Julia if she believes in love. And, it is not ordinary love, but: "No, I speak of a love that brings sight to the blind. Of a love stronger than fear. I speak of a love that breathes meaning into life, that defies the natural laws of deterioration, that causes us to flourish, that knows no bounds. I speak of the triumph of the human spirit over selfishness and death." And, thus begins a bewitching tale of Tin Win and Mi Mi. Tin Win was a successful lawyer, who one day, bids his newly minted lawyer daughter a farewell, indicating to all that he is flying to a meeting in Boston and will return in a few days. His family, in New York is a bit perplexed and does not begin to worry until there is no further word from Tin Win. Eventually, the trail of locating Tin Win leads Julia to Burma and the mountain town of Kalaw, where the unknown story of her father's humble beginnings unwinds to her like a fairy tale, similar to those her father told her during her childhood. Little had Julia known of her father's past. According to astrologers, Tin Win was born on a most unlucky day. His mother fearful of the prophecy withdraws from her son. When the horrors predicted begin to befall the young family, the mother eventually disappears and Tin Win is cared for by a kindly neighbor Su Kyi. Eventually, as time passes Tin Win loses his eyesight. Su Kyi tries to find a solution and eventully leads Tin Win to the monastery where U May undertakes to educate Tin Win and help unlock the riddles of life. As time passes Tin Win discovers that although he has been robbed of sight his ability to hear and hear to great depths and color is far superior to what he misses with his sight. One day, he hears a beating and discovers the sound so beautiful belongs to a girl, Mi Mi. Mi Mi has a less than perfect life, to which she has adapted. Mi Mi, a beautiful girl with a voice so pure and beautiful was cursed with a body less than perfect. Her feet, a birth, were deformed. And, thus Mi Mi has learned to move gracefully about by the use of her hands and knees. When she is not traveling in such a manner, she is carried. Slowly, Tin Win and Mi Mi develop a relationship where Mi Mi gives Tin Win sight and Tin Win provides Mi Mi with legs. Together they travel through life discovering its wonders in their small corner of the world, while deep affection grows. They are planning their future, when Tin Win is suddenly taken from his town, by agents for his uncle U Saw. Amid great saddness, Tin Win is hauled off to Rangoon to live with his uncle who is trying to avoid a prophecy given him by an astrologer. In order to avoid a possible terrible fate, U Saw must render aid to a relative. He remembers stories about Tin Win and brings the boy to him. U Saw is able to help Tin Win with his sight. He has him educated and as World War II is about to rip the world apart, sends Tin Win to America to further his education. In the meantime, U Saw learns of the love between Tin Win and Mi Mi and thwarts their efforts to communicate with each other. Yet, the two keep the love for each other in their hearts, throughout life. It is once, when Tin Win's family is finally established that he disappears. It is four years following that disappearance when Julia learns of her father's history and his return to the greatest love of his life, Mi Mi. The story is artfully woven with U Ba's telling of the story of Tin Win, while Julia becomes less skeptical and opens herself to the tale U Ba is spinning. This is one magical tale, lovely tale of a great love and devotion. Enjoy.

Well written! A love story within a life story and a wonderful education at the same time. One I would definitely recommend.

Gran novela de 💛, hermosamente escrita, me mantuvo pegada al libro de principio al fin

Mesmerized by the story. Thanks for the beautiful story.

Ich habe die englische Ausgabe für meine Amerikanische Nachbarin geordert. Genau genommen beide Bände. Mir haben die Deutschen Ausgaben sehr gefallen. Es ist nicht die Geschichte an sich. Die ist auch nett und hat mir gefallen, schon weil ich im vergangenen Jahr in Myanmar (Burma) war. Insofern hatte alles noch einen besonderen Touch, ich kenne mehrere Orte und kann vieles nachempfinden. Das Buch (oder die Bücher - zusammen mit The Art of hearing Heartbeats - sind ja eine Geschichte) wurde für meine Begriffe von einer wunderbaren Sprache ausgezeichnet. Es war einfach nur schön dieser Sprache zu folgen. Poetisch, lyrisch, irgendwie sanft. Buch-Sprach-Empfindungen kann man manchmal schwer beschreiben. Ich kann nur hoffen, dass die englischen Ausgaben dieser Sprachfaszination gleich kommen.

Just a lovely and endearing book that I highly recommend reading once or even more in your life! Such nicely written that you won't be able to put it down!

Good story