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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats  By  cover art

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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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)

What listeners say about The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

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A Standout Book!

This book was a great story! Sometimes it seemed like the narrator was going down a “rabbit trail” that didn’t pertain to the story, but every piece entertwined until at the end every question was resolved! Very well written!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good love story, could've been great.

I loved the premise of this book, two handicapped young people finding love and a bond through their physical and emotional support of each other but there were some things with the book that I found challenging: 1) it goes into tedious length about Tin Win's life before he meets MiMi which could've been edited to make the book more enjoyable (I kept saying to myself "okay, I get it, get on with the story"); 2) the book never explains why (spoiler alert), when Tin Win clearly is desperately in love with Mimi; why, once he regains his sight, doesn't he return to her, yet goes to America and marries another woman, one he clearly doesn't love. 3) The story from Julia's perspective is quite engaging, but the book doesn't really expand on this character, which would've been much more interesting. 4) Mimi is described as having healing gifts, yet that isn't really expanded on either. All in all, the book is entertaining, albeit a little long, but it could've been so much more if more thought had been put into the characters and the editing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Heartwarming

Any additional comments?

This is a beautiful, heartwarming story of love that transcends the ordinary. I LOVED IT.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful

This was one of the most beautifully told story of love, life, loss, and death.

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A work of Art

If you could sum up The Art of Hearing Heartbeats in three words, what would they be?

Sendker is able to take you to a world of true beauty. A beautiful relationship blossoms and the descriptive qualities are wonderful. This book captures and paints pictures of life without sight. Stellar.

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A love story

Powerful and heart warming. A love story unlike any that I've ever read, embedded within a story of a girl in search for her father.

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beautiful!

so touching really makes you see life with a wide eye and love more. even life all around you and the love it has

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    5 out of 5 stars
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This book was like a much needed hug at the end of a long, hard day. I would recommend it to everyone!

Wow! This book might be my favorite this year so far! What a beautiful surprise it was!

Another example of me starting a book having absolutely no idea what the story is about and I didn’t want to put it down!

This is a book about loss, and love. It gives you a chance to look at life from a different perspective. It reminded me of how grateful I am, not necessarily for the things I have but rather for the people in my life.

While I thought some parts felt a little bit long at times, or maybe I was just too eager to know how it was going to end, but the writing is so beautifully done that you can picture the characters and the scenery so well.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

meh

nice story. sweet. but nothing mind blowing. well performed but kind of slow. seemed too long and too rushed at the same time.

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we all need to listen

listening is a tool to life and this story is an example of how it can change your life by way of listening

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