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<>The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, by Jen-Philipp Sendker (2002)

This novel follows Julia Win, a young woman whose mother was American, and father was a well-known Wall Street attorney and Burmese national. One day, when she was a child, her father ostensibly went to work and just disappeared. Julia and her family knew nothing of her father’s life before he arrived in America. He never shared his early life with his wife. They only know that he was born and raised in Burma.

Years later, Julia finds an old love letter, written by her father to an unknown woman named Mi Mi. She decides travel to Burma to seek out this mysterious woman. Julia travels to a remote village in Burma that was once her father’s hometown. There she meets a strange old man who tells her he has been waiting for her. He tells her that his name is U Ba and that he knew Tin Win, Julia’s father.

U Ba proceeds to fill in the details of Tin Win’s early life. An orphan at a young age, he was raised by a widowed aunt. When he was 10 years old, he suddenly went blind. His aunt took him to a monastery where he was taught to follow the wisdom of his heart. He meets Mi Mi, who was born with deformed feet and can only scuttle around on all fours. They immediately fall in love, and with their disabilities, form a magical ability to feel with their other senses. After Tin Win regains his eyesight, he finds himself in America where he marries and has a family. He never lost his love for Mi Mi, however.

This is a beautiful novel with some intriguing philosophical ideologies.

3 Stars

this is one of my all-time favorites.

I liked this book, but didn't love it.

Nice review --and I was glad to be reminded of this book, which I read about 2 years ago. I wished that the author had told us more about how Julia (whom I found cold and impatient) was changed by her encounter with U Ba.

What a glorious title for a book