The Art of Hearing Heartbeats cover art

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

A Novel

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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
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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.
Contemporary Contemporary Romance Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance World Literature Heartfelt
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Critic reviews

“Absolute magic…Like a spell, it haunts. Like love, it’s going to endure.” (Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author)
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I enjoyed this story. An endearing and intriguing tale of love and devotion over time. My book club reviewed the book and there was a real mix of opinion...some found it a bit cliched and couldn't complete it while others absolutely loved it.

The American accent of the reader jarred a little for me but I managed to finish the story so can't have been that bad on reflection!

An endearing and intriguing story.

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I was mesmerised from the start and didn't want it to finish.
It is a collaboration of stories with a theme running through.
Sweet gentle sad heart breaking journey

Utterly beautiful from start to finish

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loved this book was hard to put down, beautifully narrated by Cassandra Campbell, I highly recommend it :)

Loved every moment was hard to put down :)

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What a beautiful book. I would highly recommend.... You might need some tissues hand for the last few chapters

Mesmerising

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Mesmerising tale with beautiful language, and descriptions of love, courage, and a feeling of inner grace and a nobility and calm which I would love to feel.

Enthralling

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