by Katie,
This book was given to me by a coworker before she moved
to a new job. I’ve been meaning to read it for a bit so it’s nice to
finally start.
This book is apparently part of a trilogy. The third book isn’t finished being written but if we like this one I’m open to reading the other two.
The summary says that this novel will “reaffirm [our] belief in the power of love to move mountains.”
That is quite a lot of pressure to put on our story.
Hopefully it lives up to the hype.
Some questions to think about while we read:
(from Artofhearingheartbeats.com/reading-group-guide/)
In your opinion, what does the
back-and-forth between Julia’s and U Ba’s narratives add to the telling
of the love story between Tin Win and Mi Mi? How do these stories
interrelate?
Tin Win and Mi Mi develop an
intense, literally symbiotic relationship: he walks for her; she acts as
his eyes. They become inseparable, but then they are separated for
decades. Given what you know about each character,
how do you think they are able to withstand the time apart?
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteThe six-week recovery must be well and truly over now, Nancy. But have you fully recovered? And are the photographs now in some order? If so, I’m really envious. When you said ‘water colour work’, did you mean water colour painting? If that’s the case, I can’t tell you how impressed I am. The art teacher was visibly relieved when I didn’t take art as an examination subject.
Clearly, Benjamin is doing brilliantly. You must be so proud of him, Katie. Lillian in the princess phase must be a joy to watch. And don’t worry about the book choices. I’ve chosen some really grim stuff and no doubt will again. I apologise in advance!
Your choice this month was a real treat. It was made even better for me because, in the absence of a still missing book, the library gave me a CD version of the text. (Clearly, someone else liked the book too.) I’d never listened to a recorded version of a complete novel before. (Didn’t you try it once, Nancy?) As it happened, with Jay away in Malaysia and me feeling a bit under the weather, listening to the excellent reader was a joy. And listening somehow made it clearer that the novel was a series of tales, joined together. Sometimes, I felt like a child enjoying a bedtime story and never wanting it to end. U Ba’s interrupted narratives were a wonderful way of narrating the story, breaking it up and holding the (in my case) listener’s attention.
The back and forth between Julia and U Ba emphasised the very different lives Julia and her father had led, especially their diverse understanding of family obligations and responsibilities. It also made clearer the differences between the two cultures in which Tin Win had lived.
Of course, there could be no reading ahead so I was constantly guessing at the conclusion, but Tin Win’s ability to stop breathing gave me a clue as to what was likely to happen. However, I was interrupted right at the end by a neighbour and shortly afterwards had to hand the CDs back. What was implied about U Ba’s relationship with Mi Mi during all those years Tin Win was away?
In answer to your second question, Katie, I’m assuming Tin Win and Mi Mi withstood the time apart because of their complete faith in their love for each other; because independently they were able to lead successful lives; and they were both very strong characters. I wonder how their relationship would have been affected had Tin Win returned home immediately after he had recovered his sight? Would the symbiosis between the two have been affected in any way? Given their wisdom and sensitivity, even when young, perhaps not. It also seems to me that they had enormous faith, in each other and in whatever forces ruled their lives. Whatever happened, they would be together. The story about the crocodile and the smoke was a wonderful fairy story, and inevitably repeated in their lives.
Usually when I write a book review I have the book with me to refer to, and of course I’ve read rather than listened. If you hadn’t given the names of the main characters in the introduction, Katie, I would have spelt them incorrectly. As it is, I can’t remember the name of Tin Win’s second mother, or the religious leader in the monastery. Very skillfully drawn minor characters. I did wonder how Tin Win had got involved with his wife. Could he hear and interpret her heartbeat? But that really wasn’t something Julia or U Ba would know about. Bit of a limitation on the storytellers’ insight into events, but a price worth paying for the perspectives the narrators provided. Anyway, come to think about it, this gap in my knowledge could be the result of a limitation in my listening skills. Did I fall asleep?!
Thank you for this choice, Katie. It really lit up an otherwise depressing few days.
Love to you and your families, ladies.
Hello ladies!
ReplyDeleteSue I’m glad to hear how much you enjoyed the book. I hope it was good company in Jay’s absence. When does he come home? Nancy, I hope you are doing well. Do you have to have more rest scheduled or are you finally able to do a little more physical activity? The kids are doing well. They have just started the garden with Franklin. Hopefully we’ll have some fresh veggies soon!
I enjoyed this month’s novel very much. It was bittersweet and magical. The love between Mi Mi and Tin Win was so precious. I think we are just supposed to accept that they have a bond that cannot be broken by time or separation. Their love for one another is the purest form of love. It does make me feel a great deal of sympathy for Julia’s mother. She would never be held in the same regard to Tin Win as Mi Mi was. That is a bit sad to me. I think that their symbiotic relationship may have ended once Tin Win got his sight back. Tin Win may have eventually grown to resent Mi Mi for being so dependent while Mi Mi may have felt guilt for the same reason. But again, we’re supposed to believe that their love was impervious to such trivial things. I sound like a cynic, I apologize. I truly adored their deep committed love!
In reference to your curiosity about Mi Mi and U Ba, Sue, I think that U Ba was Mi Mi and Tin Win’s son. I would hope we’d have a definitive answer in A Well-Tempered Heart the sequel to our novel. I would like to add this book to our reading list if you ladies don’t mind? It would seem reasonable to think that U Ba was their child with how he waited so desperately for Julia’s, or potentially her brother’s, arrival. I cannot think of any other reason a character like U Ba would wait for a character like Julia unless they were somehow interconnected.
Really enjoyed this month’s book. I’m glad you did too Sue!
Hello Laies,
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your well wishes, I am happy to report the convalescence over and I’m now working on regaining some lost fitness, I’m finding that is not as easy as it use to be haha.
So happy to hear the children and Franklin are growing veggies, so rewarding and delicious.
Sue I hope you’ve fully recovered and how wonderful you had such a good audio book as company. I understand your concerns about falling asleep though, when I attempted to listen to my one and only audio, which was our book “The Professor and the Madman” while I was interested I was constantly battling to stay awake.
With such a beautiful story as ‘The Art Of Hearing Heartbeats ‘you painted such a comforting picture of an adult bedtime time story.
I really enjoyed your pick this month Katie, thank you. I found with so much turmoil and chaos swirling around us in this world gone mad that a beautiful heartfelt story of love and powerful human spirit so uplifting and positive.
I would love to read this trilogy and am happy to include it in our list. If I made it our pick for June would that be OK with you Ladies?
I had made the guess early on that perhaps UBa was Tin Win and MiMi child, he seemed to know so much of the story.
Sue, I’m very tempted to get the audio book for part two of this trilogy.
What do you think?
Once again Katie, thank you for such a beautiful choice.
Much love Nancy