The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

A Novel

By: Jan-Philipp Sendker

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present.

When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.

Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995 and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. In 2000 he published Cracks in the Great Wall, a nonfiction book about China. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is his first novel. He lives in Berlin with his family.

©2002 Karl Blessing Verlag. Translation 2006 by Kevin Wiliarty (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Absolute magic…Like a spell, it haunts. Like love, it’s going to endure.” (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author)

Moving, deeply felt masterpiece

One of the very best books I have ever read. The prose, the yearnings, the descriptions, the everythings written about here render one speechless and fill one with awe. Jan-Philipp Sendker is truly a gifted storyteller.

quietly told and haunting love story

if you are looking for something different to read that will set you in a landscape that is both foreign and eternal, this is your book. I will remember these characters for a very long time.

Amazing

Magnificent and beautiful. I will have to listen again. I also need a hard copy.

I really enjoyed the book!

The book was well written. It creats a real visual putting right into the book. You experience what was is being read. touching story with a wonderful moral base. Good Read.

A Good Enough Story

This was a good enough story that I finished it in spite of the narrator’s overly emotive voice. I found myself hampered from the appreciating the full impact of the book due to the sappiness of delivery.

I listened and listened again

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

YES! I listened, then listened again, then I went out and bought the book to read. It is one of those books I will still be reading 20 years from now, and I rarely read a book twice.

What did you like best about this story?

The intricate paths you travel with each character, and the way those paths can seem very different with each read/listen. The 'AH' moments in this book where I think "wow how could I have missed that last time".

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't like spoilers so I will just say, the rail road tracks.

Who was the most memorable character of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and why?

There is simply no way to pick a single character from this book. The authors ability to bring them to life is simply too well developed.

Any additional comments?

Thank you Audible for putting this book on sale. It is not one I would normally have picked and my life is definitely richer for having read it.

Beautiful story

Loved the story. Nothing better than reading a story so beautiful that it changes you. My first time to read a book by Sendker but not my last

Wonderful and beautiful

Amazing story. I cried so many times through this journey. Simple and beautiful. What a wonderful, quiet ending.

Just okay

Any additional comments?

Just finished this and I feel mixed about it. It was an engrossing story and often it was very beautiful. The details about Burma/Myanmar made me want to visit. I found both Tin Win and Mi Mi inspiring, they made me want to be a better person- a better listener, more generous, less selfish. On the other hand, it felt a little preachy and pedantic. The contrast between Westerners and Burmese was heavy-handed. I'm not sure that the stereotypes hold true for all people from either culture. Also, I guessed the ending long before I got to the ending... and that made it a little less satisfying.

Disappointing

I was hoping for way more. Very predictable don’t waste a credit. Sad story author needed to build more of main characters life in America.