I started this sequel to The Art of Hearing Heartbeats with trepidation, and I was right. I loved The Art of Hearing Heartbeats but saw no need for a sequel and this did not disappoint my very low expectations. Spoiler alert for the rest of this comment. The beautiful writing was the same, but as a rationalist I had a very difficult time accepting the basic premise of a woman hearing the voice of a dead woman. I was able to rise above my skepticism in the first book that yes, someone really could hear heartbeats, but Sendker was not able to convince me on the voice that sent Julia back to Burma. The love story with Thar Thar was also unconvincing as was the ending and although I fully appreciate that Burma has had its own tragic history of repression and genocide, the chutzpah of a German writing about a Burmese Sophie's choice situation was particularly annoying. I had high expectations for this sequel to the art of hearing heartbeats . I really loved the first book and didn't think twice to buy the sequel. It took me five months to finish because it was so boring that I couldn't sit and read this for too long at once. I literally forced myself to finish the book just to see how it ended. Save your precious time and read a different book. I don't understand the good reviews on amazon. For me it was below average.
Do You like book Gli Accordi Del Cuore (2012)?
Not as good as first one, but worth reading if you loved The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.
—loulibros
Almost as good as the first... I rarely say that about sequals
—Cbaby5able
