Four and a half stars for a worthy sequel to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats:The story of Julia's father having been completed, this sequel cannot delve further into that wonderful saga, but that is no reason to pass this up...It has been ten years since Julia's visit to Burma and the discovery of her half brother. She and U Ba have kept in touch, but less frequently with the passing of time and Julia's distraction of NY life and overwork. Then something happens that brings her back to Kalaw and U Ba. Thus starts a second journey that will bring in new heart wrenching characters and amazing plots to change her life.Mr. Sendker's two fascinating novels are a treasure which I highly recommend to all readers. I only wish there was a third book to anticipate...?? This book is a sequel to the book - The art of hearing the heartbeats. I read the sequel before the original book. Julia Win, a lawyer in NY City, has not visited Burma or her brother U Ba during the last 10 years. Suddenly, in the middle of ameeting at work, she starts hearing a voice asking her probing questions - Who are you? Why are you alone? Why do you not have children? etc. Julia fears that she is going mad and confides in her friend Amy. The two of them travel to a retreat and practice meditation. An Asian monk listens to Julia's dilemma and deduces that a dead person's soul has taken residence in Julia's body. This soul must be tortured. The only way to be rid of this voice is to find out the story of this person. Julia decides to take a leave from work and travel to Burma to see UBa. And then the story unfolds. The tortured soul in Julia's body is Nu Nu - a young woman. The story ais about Nu Nu and her love and misfortune that befalls her family, her sons, the choices she makes, the mistakes she makes. Is her son Thar Thar still alive? And so the reader is taken into the journey and through the meetings of acquaintances, the story is pieced together. By the end of the book, Julia is at peace with herself, rejuvenated, and finds love and happiness!
What do You think about Herzenstimmen (2012)?
The sequel to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats wasn't as good as the first, but I still enjoyed it.
—albisardua
There is a kind of calm that came from reading both if Sendker's books. Such beauty.
—kidpact
Not quite as good as The Art of Hearing Heartbeats but very well written.
—lory85
"Not all truths are explicable. Not all explicable things are true."
—AnneElise
