by Katie,We were so enthralled with Mr. Sendker’s first novel in this series. It drew us in so deeply. I hope A Well-Tempered Heart will captivate us just as much.
It’s been about ten years since Julia returned from Burma. Her current situation does not seem to be all that she had hoped for. When a voice begins to talk to her, she thinks she is crazy. Just as we were expected to believe Tin Win heard heartbeats, now we are asked to believe in Julia hearing a voice.
A few questions that I have found from readinggroupguides.com:
Why is it Nu Nu’s voice that enters Julia’s consciousness? How are their stories interwoven, and how does Nu Nu’s tale of love and loss both relate to and differ from Julia’s?
If THE ART OF HEARING HEARTBEATS was Julia’s quest to find out who her father was, what is it she’s setting out to uncover in this sequel A WELL-TEMPERED HEART?
What role do signs play in the lives of Julia, Nu Nu & Thar Thar? How do these omens help them to make sense of the mystery and purpose of their lives?
I really hope this one is as wonderful as the last! Happy reading, Ladies!
Hello Ladies
ReplyDeleteHow are you both? How is Ivars, Nancy? Please give him our love and best wishes. Did you enjoy Sam’s puppy? And how is your own dog doing? I have indeed read ‘Truth’. A much darker novel as Villani is a darker character than Cashin. Nevertheless, a brilliant read. Terrific writer. Hope the climate is improving as summer progresses, Katie, and that the children are enjoying their holidays. Tires me out out just thinking of children at home full-time! Very much admire how you cope with such a busy life. Jay is back, thank you, and is doing wonderful things in the garden. Good man!
I did enjoy this sequel, but not as much as ‘The Art of Hearing Heartbeats’, perhaps because it didn’t have as many fairy tales! And, of course, I was reading rather than listening to the book. Perhaps, too, the violence of the war and the sadness of Nu Nu’s life meant there was more brutality and grief involved. I’ll try to answer some of the suggested questions.
Perhaps Nu Nu’s voice enters Julia’s consciousness because Nu Nu is trying to bring That Thar and Julia together? Clearly, I’m an incurable romantic! Of course, it could be because at some level of awareness, Julia needs to go back to Burma, and Nu Nu’s voice provides her with a reason. A thesis would be required to discuss the interweaving of and similarities between the two ladies’ lives. One thread would be that both suffer some psychological difficulties, Nu Nu more intensely and with more dramatic consequences than Julia. However, it does seem to me that the greatest similarities are perhaps between Julia and Thar Thar, both of them being the less favoured children of strong mothers, and who have had to deal with the isolation that caused.
Like Nu Nu, Julia pays no attention to signs that all may not be well when either she’s too happy or too busy. Julia’s clues that something was wrong came in the shape of red pimples on the neck, insomnia, irritability and impatience, ‘rushing’ in her ears. Nu Nu’s warnings are more relevant to the society in which she lives, more concrete: Maung Sein injuring himself when carving; six piglets being born on her birthday, one with two heads. I’m not sure these signals really do help either Julia or Nu Nu make sense of their lives, particularly as so often they ignore them.
The title suggests that in this novel Julia, perhaps subconsciously, is looking for ways in which she can live a more meaningful life, one that promotes greater equanimity. Smacks a little of the sixties to me, but we could perhaps all do with a little more ‘heart tuning’. A lovely concept, ‘heart tuning’. Could slash the divorce rate! Thank you for introducing me to it, Katie.
Hope your lives are as you want them to be, ladies.
Much love to you and your families
Sue
Hello ladies!
ReplyDeleteHow are you both doing? Things are going well here. Summer has finally come and the children couldn’t be more excited. Their garden is starting to bloom so they are getting excited for picking fresh veggies. Hope you both are having lovely weather.
I enjoyed this month’s novel. I think I enjoyed the first book more but this was also quite enjoyable. Certainly it was nice to spend time with Julia when I felt we didn’t get to hear much about her in the first book. I felt so much sympathy for Nu Nu. Such a difficult life she led when all she wanted was a little happiness. As a mother, I do not know if I could ever pick between my children. For her to have had to choose between the boys was heartbreaking. What a terrible fate! I think her hardships were so much greater than Julia’s. I don’t mean to down play anyone’s pain but the two lives seem hardly comparable.
I agree that Nu Nu was a catalyst for Julia’s return to Burma. Without Nu Nu, Julia would probably have continued living an empty life in New York. Julia was at a crossroads in her life. She starts off going to Burma to find out about the voice in her but ultimately she needed to find what she wanted with her life. Returning to one’s roots can certainly help people reevaluate their lives.
I swore I read that this book was part of a trilogy but I cannot seem to find if there is a third book. We might not get to know what happens to Julia! I have to say I’m a bit disappointed by that thought. Call me an incurable romantic too, Sue! But I think I would enjoy seeing Thar Thar and Julia ending up together. We will have to wait and see if a third installment comes out!
Thank you for reading this with me, ladies! Much love to you and yours!
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay in my post the month, we have Sam and his pup Bucky visiting with us and it has been quite chaotic, loads of fun though. It has been fascinating watching our over indulged, old dogs cope with the rambunctious youngster invading their domain. So far only a few minor skirmishes and as long as everyone knows their place in the pack peace reigns, well mostly !
As to our novel, I agree with you both, I also enjoyed the first novel more than this one. I found I just couldn’t stretch my imagination as far as needed. I just couldn’t get why Nu Nu chose Julia, I feel I am a little less romantic than you guys and don’t think she was looking for a partner for Thar Thar .
Although Nu Nu’s life was very tragic and the choices she had to make unbelievably difficult I still found I didn’t feel a lot of empathy for her. I found her and Julia to be a lot alike in the way they sometimes seem to selfishly put their own agendas first. The male characters closest to them both were all portrayed as such patient ,loving giving souls, very strong men, in fact that is how the majority of the Burmese men in both books were portrayed, the author didn’t really have a lot of strong female lead characters, with the exception of course of Mi Mi.
Thar Thar’s story was very engrossing, and it was a part of Burmese history I wasn’t aware of, although I imagine the situation there at the present time is even more horrific . I was pleased to see Thar Thar had found a measure of peace in his life and a purpose to help others, I have to admit I was wishing Julia would leave him in peace and not bring the sort of problems a relationship with her, a westerner, would bring.
Thank you Katie for this series it has been very enjoyable, I hope you and your families are all well, and the weather isn’t too hot or wild. I’ve sent all the boys to the beach here to try and get my post written, and some food in order. I am always amazed how much a 26 year old can consume!!
Love to all
Nancy