U Win Nyein is a gentle, soft spoken man in his sixties. I meet him in his office in downtown Yangon. It is on the first floor of an old rundown building. Through the open windows we hear the sounds of the street: the chatting in the tea house next door, the voices of children playing, a few cars.
The room is full of books, magazines, newspapers, they are all spread out on chairs, tables and desks. U Win Nyein is editor in chief of Burma’s leading literary journal. He proudly shows me the latest issue. On the cover are a famous Burmese actress and an actor. There are many stories about movies and singers. In a sixteen-part series, they publish a biography of Angelina Jolie which he translates into Burmese. In the second part of the magazine, there are many short stories by Burmese...
There are a few things a visitor will notice right away when he arrives in Kalaw. First will be the beautiful surroundings. The town is set in the Hills of the Shan States, roughly 4,500 feet above sea level. There are wonderful old mansions and villas, leftovers from the time when Burma was part of the British Empire. Some are built in the Tudor style, while others look like houses in the Scottish Highlands. A visitor will also notice: The local headquarters of the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi. It is right on the main road, decorated with her party flag and posters of her likeness. Still a rather unusual and stunning sight. I am in town for no more than one hour and I am already told that SHE was here—just last week, campaigning for her party’s candidate for the April 1 election....
I took the night train from Yangon to Mandalay and got off in Thazi. I left at 3pm; the distance is a little more than 300 miles. It takes between thirteen and fifteen hours. It depends on the weather, the ghosts and spirits along the way, and the mood of the driver and the engine.
I was lucky. It only took us 13 hours and 20 minutes.
Sitting in the train I, was reading an old book by an English author, published in 1906. He once took the same train, and it took him the same amount of time. I suppose there aren’t many places on the face of the earth where the speed of a train has not improved in the last 106 years. When I think about it, there is not much more you need to know about the state this country is in.
When I came down this morning, the hotel lobby was full of nervous business people running around with their mobile phones trying to get reception (they couldn’t) or sitting in front of their computers. What would be a normal sight in most other countries is still unusual here. Now and then I notice a waiter or the concierge looking curiously at what all these strangers are doing.
I went to my favorite book store, Bagan Bookshop, downtown. It is a small place, based in a living room more or less, but they have wonderful books—many of them out-of-pring books about Burma, which the owners have copied them themselves. The late owner used to restore old books, like U Ba does in The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. When I walked in, his son was happy to see me. I noticed books by Aung San...
We are stuck in a traffic jam. Haven't moved for ten minutes on our way from the Yangon airport to downtown. The whole trip used to take no longer than twenty minutes. The air smells terrible. It is hot and sticky.
"The government has lowered the taxes and tariffs on new cars," my friend explains, as if he had to apologize for the long drive. "There are a lot of cars being imported now."
I nod and think of my first trip to Burma, back in 1995. There were only a handful of cars on the streets back then. Everybody walked or rode a bike. The air was fresh. I tell my friend of my sweet memories.
He laughs. "Yes. You enjoyed it because YOU were sitting in a car....
Today I leave for Burma. I am excited and anxious and very curious.
I have travelled to Burma more than a dozen times. It is a country where I have close friends, where I feel very comfortable. There is almost a sense of belonging.
My last trip was a year and a half ago. For Burma, that didn’t used to be a long time. Time didn’t matter much. Things used to change very slowly, if they changed at all. Kalaw, the town where my novel The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is set, looks more or less the same as it did seventeen years ago, when I first travelled there: the same old and run down buildings, the same potholes in the streets. In my hotel I was the only guest, like always, in my room there was still the same fridge....
It has been two weeks since The Art of Hearing Heartbeats came out in America. The first few days and weeks after the publication of a novel is always a strange phase for me: very sensitive and extremely exciting at the same time.
Exciting, because it usually takes me two or more years to write a novel. Two years in which I sit at my desk just by myself, thinking, dreaming, listening. Writing is a lonely business. Nobody reads what I type into my computer except my wife. Then my publisher, my editor. And finally the moment I have worked for so long arrives…
Sensitive and difficult, because up to that day, the characters belong to me. Only to me. From the moment I invent them, we live in a very close relationship, undisturbed by the outside world. I shelter and nurture them; they...
There are many marvelous things about being a novelist. You can daydream all day long and call it a profession. You only need a pen and a piece of paper to work. You can do it wherever you want: in bed, on the beach, in a bar (in my case: mostly in my office at home).
For me, though, one of the best things about being a novelist has been the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful and interesting people I have ever encountered. These people, like novelists, are dreamers―because they believe in the magical power of the written word.
They are people who work very long hours. People who work very long hours and never complain. People who work very long hours, never complain, and don’t make much money. They have various reasons for being in their line of...
Monkhood is an essential part of the live of every Burmese man.
Monkhood is an essential part of the life of every Burmese man. Many become monks or novice at various points in their lives. They leave their family behind and stay in the monestary for weeks, months or even years. Some start their life as novice very early...
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats has been named an IndieNext "Great Read" for February 2012! Many thanks to the independent booksellers who nominated the book.
Is it true that, as the saying goes, every book has its own destiny? If so, the wondrous life of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats began on a hot and steamy afternoon in Southeast Asia in the spring of 1995. I arrived in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, for the first time and was overwhelmed. I spent almost three weeks traveling around the country. The people were so friendly, patient, open, curious, and gentle in their manners—like I hadn’t seen before. They faced all the challenges of their lives, and there were and are many, with great patience and a sense of humor. In other words: They kept their dignity despite all the hardship. That made a deep and lasting impression on me. It was a trip that changed my life.
I have been back many times since and it became clear to me...
Two of the main characters in The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, Tin Win and Mi Mi, have disabilities that allow them to see the world from a unique perspective. Do you think this contributes to the intensity of their connection and the strength of their relationship?
Yes and no. I did a lot of research for the book not only in Myanmar but also about blindness. I read books written by blind people about how they experience the world, what they sense and feel and hear. I learned that when you lack one sense, the others will become much more sensitive. While writing the book I tried to put myself in their shoes, so to speak. After the book came out, readers on blogs and internet forums discussed the question of whether I was blind or not since the writing was so convincing.
A photo from Page & Palette Bookstore.
Life in Burma's country side hasn't changed much for the last few hundred years.
A woman fishing on the Inle lake, the same way her ancestors did.
Transporting goods or traveling in Burma is never easy.
Monkhood is an essential part of the live of every Burmese man.
