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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I hadn't read 'The Art of Hearing Heartbeats' and had no trouble entering the story here. Beginning in New York with Julia hearing a voice, the novel certainly did not unfold as I expected it to! Learning about Julia, and her brother, U Ba, was special. The tale they pursue and uncover takes you back to an earlier time, but more than that imparts another way of looking at the world, and yourself.
"Intuition is the incorruptable memory of our experiences. We have only to listen to what it tells us. [...] It does not always speak plainly. Or it tells us things we don't want to hear. That does make them untrue."
"Intuition is the incorruptable memory of our experiences. We have only to listen to what it tells us. [...] It does not always speak plainly. Or it tells us things we don't want to hear. That does make them untrue."
This book is a sequel to the book The Art of Hearing Heartbeats which I loved. This book brings Julia back to Burma after ten years seeking answers, and it works off the idea of souls needing resolutions and closure. This book is not the fairy tale the first one was. That book was about unconditional love. This book is a much darker story about choices, about loss, and about war.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/03/a-well-tempered-heart.html
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014/03/a-well-tempered-heart.html
Exquisite writing and storytelling. While the actual plot is challenging to believe, the story is deeply affecting and makes me think about what is important to me.
This is a perfectly nice book with a perfectly nice story and a perfectly nice message. However, when compared to the first book in the series (The Art of Hearing Heartbeats) it falls a bit short. The plot is more formulaic and lacked the originality of the first novel. Also, the characters that we are learning about are not flushed out, and I did not love their story as much. That being said, I did enjoy this one and do truly believe I will read everything else that Mr. Sendker writes. Unfortunately, this book just suffered by comparison to an amazing first novel.
Once again - I was utterly transported to another place and another life. I feel calmer after having read this book. :)
I will sit with it for awhile and I'm guessing I will change my rating to five stars. But regardless a wonderful, tranformative read.
Thank you Jana for the loan of your ARC. It was good to read it with "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" still so fresh in my heart.
I will sit with it for awhile and I'm guessing I will change my rating to five stars. But regardless a wonderful, tranformative read.
Thank you Jana for the loan of your ARC. It was good to read it with "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" still so fresh in my heart.
Worthy follow-up, poignant, touching and compelling narrative.
A worthy sequel to [b:The Art of Hearing Heartbeats|11331421|The Art of Hearing Heartbeats|Jan-Philipp Sendker|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320437247s/11331421.jpg|6504537]. I enjoyed it just as much and am hoping there's a third book in the series.
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes