An epic narrative that requires…a large box of tissues.
Publishers Weekly
[The Art of Hearing Heartbeats] is a love story set in Burma…imbued with Eastern spirituality and fairy-tale romanticism…Fans of Nicholas Sparks and/or Elizabeth Gilbert should eat this up.
Kirkus Reviews
A very tender, special love story with beautiful characters in a far away and almost mysterious country . . . A wonderful book, giving you a feeling of both, happiness and deep emotions that stay with you for a long time after you have read the last page. A heart-warming, sun-drenched story for a rainy Sunday.
Ursula Zanger, Bookseller, Orell Füssli, The Bookshop, Zurich
I love this book. The reader gets some wonderful insights into the soul of a people in a mysterious, far away country. At the same time it makes us think about ourselves, how we define love and what we believe is important in our lives.
Angelika Schwabach, Bookseller, Buchhandlung Ida von Behr, Volksdorf, Germany
After I had put down the book I knew that I had never read a more beautiful love story—and I do read a lot. Whenever I sell the book I know I make somebody happy. Very often the customer comes back a few days later and thanks me for my recommendation.
Bettina Meyer, Bookseller, die Buchhandlung, Neugraben, Germany
Jan-Philipp Sendker’s The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was an insider tip among my booksellers long before it became such a bestseller in Germany. They recommended it to our customers and rarely has the word spread so passionately and continously. The book is unique in many ways. Magical. Poetic. Full of suspense. A real page turner. It takes us into a very distant, very different culture and into one of the most moving love stories I’ve ever read.
Ruth Duchstein, Bookseller, Reuffel Buchhandlung, Koblenz, Germany
I have been a bookseller for more than twenty years and The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is our all-time bestseller. It is such a moving love story but at the same time we learn so much about a very different culture, a different approach to life that we start to question our own. I love the language of Mr. Sendker, his rhythm and style. It is beautifully written and a page turner at the same time. That is rare. To my own surprise the book is very popular among my male customers as well.
Marianne Nagel, Bookseller, Buchhandlung Nagel, Amriswil, Switzerland
It might be the only book I know which I or my sales team can recommend to every customer no matter how different their taste is. Young, old, male, female, an easy one or a picky one, it doesn’t matter. I give them a brief summary and it always works like magic.
Ingeborg Deichmann, Bookseller, Bensheimer Bücherstube, Bensheim, Germany
Sweetly tragic.
No matter what I even attempt to say, I can’t possibly capture the absolute magic of this book. Like a spell, it haunts. Like love, it’s going to endure.
Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You
A story at once both poignant and joyous, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats reaffirms how love can transform the harshest of realities into a mystical one.
Margaret Dilloway, author of How to Be an American Housewife
Set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is a rare novel. Telling the story of a young blind man’s journey through a world of auditory intensity, Jan-Philipp Sendker renews one’s faith in the possibility of real, pure love. I finished the book in tears.
Shawna Yang Ryan, author of Water Ghosts
Already a huge hit in Europe, Sendker’s debut is a lush tale of romance and family set in mid-twentieth century Burma….A beautiful tale bound to enchant readers.
Booklist