This was an interesting book; essentially two stories in one. Julie is a young attorney in NYC. Four years earlier, right after she graduated from law school, her father disappeared. Just vanished without a trace. His last known location was Burma, where he was from. Julie decides that she has to go to Burma to see if she can find her father. Once she arrives in Burma, she meets U ba. He tells her the story of two people, Tin Win and Mi Mi, who over come many obstacles and fall in love. Julie discovers things about her father and herself through the story of Tin Win and Mi Mi. I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read. I would have liked the author to have written an epilogue to see what happen to Julie with the information she gained from her journey to Burma. When this one first came out, it must have flown under my radar. But it was a selection for one of my book clubs, so I picked it up on audio. It is a very sweet generational story about an enduring love affair between a blind boy and a girl with deformed feet who cannot walk. When a couple such as this finds each other and they complement each other's deficiencies, it just a tad precious. Plus it takes place in Burma, which gives the reader a sense of that side of the world. The language is beautiful...translation here worked well.But. I rated this a 3 (probably would have been a 3.5 if I had the option) for a reason. The story was just a little TOO sweet, a little TOO predictable, and there was a "reveal" or two that seemed to treat the reader like they were dense, when I'm sure most people saw this stuff coming a mile away. I sensed that there was a concentrated push towards the end for tears, and I do not like that. It reminded me somewhat of a Khaled Hosseini novel, but with a little less grace and epic storytelling. The audio was narrated by Cassandra Campbell, who really excels at these types of books. She has a smooth, gentle voice that makes an enjoyable listening experience.
What do You think about Das Herzenhören (2002)?
In the Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, a successful lawyer suddenly disappears, leaving his family wondering what happened. His daughter, Julia, decides to try to find him or to figure out what happened to him. She travels to Burma to try to unravel his past. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It sounded like a mystery, but it is described as a love story. Julia's Dad has a past that no one knew about, and Julia finds someone in Burma right away who spends most of the book telling her his story. There is no mystery or suspense. There is hardship, adversity and sadness. I don't like how this book ends. I don't really like how the story was told - we didn't really need Julia. I don't like that Julia's Dad had no backbone when he was a young man and got separated from his one true love and never fought to get back to her. I hate that he waited 50 years to go back to try to find her. It was a disappointing book for me, and her Dad was a weak main character.
—itsdaeleon
Was really wanting to like this book but ultimately didn't. I struggled with elements of the story, particularly Tin Win's apparent unconcern about his children. This didn't really fit with the other descriptions given of him as a young man who sounded far more caring and unlikely to abandon his chikdren and disappear. The long winded descriptions also became quite tiresome, found myself drifting away numerous times. After I had managed to finish the book I found myself quite annoyed with Tin Win!
—sayday247
