A Well-tempered Heart

Book 0: Art of Hearing Heartbeats

by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Genres: Cultural Heritage; Family Life; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

The sequel to the international bestselling novel The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Almost ten years have passed since Julia Win came back from Burma, her father’s native country. Though she is a successful Manhattan lawyer, her private life is at a crossroads; her boyfriend recently left her, she has suffered a miscarriage, and she is, despite her wealth, unhappy with her professional life. Julia is lost and exhausted.

One day, in the middle of an important business meeting, she hears a stranger’s voice in her head that causes her to leave the office without explanation. In the following days, her crisis only deepens. Not only does the female voice refuse to disappear, but it starts to ask questions Julia has been trying to avoid. Why do you live alone? To whom do you feel close? What do you want in life?

Interwoven with Julia’s story is that of a Burmese woman named Nu Nu who finds her world turned upside down when Burma goes to war and calls on her two young sons to be child soldiers. This spirited sequel, like The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain: the human heart.

Release date: January 21, 2014

Publisher: Other Press

Print pages: 320

Sample

   “Can you also hear heartbeats?”
   “No.”
   “Too bad.” Thar Thar looked at me. “I once knew someone who could tune a heart.”
   “Tune a heart?” I asked, wondering if I had understood him correctly.
   “Yes, like an instrument. If a heart was out of tune, he would retune it.”
   “How can a heart be out of tune?” I asked.
   Thar Thar cocked his head to the side and smirked. “The daughter of a heart listener really ought to know that.”
   Was he making fun of me?
   “Alas, there are many ways. Have you never heard of irregular heartbeats, rapid heartbeats, premature heartbeats? If life has made you mean, or if disappointments have made you as bitter as a slice of tamarind, your heart beats too deeply. If you are afraid, it starts to flutter like a young bird. If you are sad, it beats so slowly that a person might expect it to stop completely any minute. If your spirit is overwhelmed by confusion, it beats most irregularly. Is it different in America?”
   “No. But when we have arrhythmia we go to a cardiologist.”
   “That’s a different matter. They are mechanics of the heart. They have nothing to do with tuning a heart.”
   “How does one tune a heart?” I asked quietly.
   Thar Thar cleared his throat, stuck the knife into the cutting board, and fell silent. He did not answer.
   “Does it require a special gift?”
   He looked past me. His lower lip began to quiver.
   “What does it take to be a heart tuner? Who can do it? A magician? An astrologer?”
   He shook his head. Without a word.