The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker is a wonderful tale that I felt I could best relate to with the fact that love can withstand time. J has been deployed, he has been on isolation tours and away for long periods of time for classes and training. Because of all our time apart I can well understand what Tin Win and Mi Mi must have felt. Their love stood the test of time.
When I first jumped into the pages of this particular book I was exclaiming what a rogue Tin Win was to be so fickle with his affections. But was he? No, he knew love and he knew that love can be felt in different ways and with different people. I know that this is very true. There is the person that deploys, the soldier. I have to treat my husband very differently when he is a soldier. I must not upset him with every day events that make it seem like I can't handle being alone. Then there is the guy that I married, the civilian, the guy that comes home from work each day and wants to be bothered with the trivial aspects of marriage. Our love is different from how we are apart.
I can't help but wonder that if Tin Win felt able to dishonor his father figure distant cousin if he would have been extremely happy with Mi Mi or if he would have felt the boredom that can grow with taking one's spouse for granted. The fact that they were apart for so long, not unlike the times I've been apart from my husband but just not for as long as the fictional couple, might have kindled the romance even more. When apart from J I often would gloss over the bad parts that are there in the every day life and don the rose colored glasses of the newness of relationships. Though I do slip those glasses on when he leaves I remember to take them off when he comes back. It is the reality that is the true test of love, the real love that can withstand the test of time.
As a member of From Left To Write I received a free copy of this book to read and write a personal review for my blog. All of the opinions stated in my blog are of course my own.
When Julia travels to Burma to search for her missing lawyer father, she discovers much more than she expected.
Join From Left to Write on February 1 as we discuss The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.
I gotta tell you...so many aspects of this book appealed to me...I'm not sure what I'm going to write about. So glad you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteSo many different themes to write about in this book. I really enjoyed taking the time to savor reading this story of their love.
DeleteWow,I never thought about how you are married to two different J's: the soldier and the civilian. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is that I married him before he joined the Army so I really did marry the civilian aspect of his personality.
DeleteI appreciate the insight you gave us about the life of an army wife. It's not something that I would think of, but it totally makes sense that you have two different kind of relationships with the same person. I know it doesn't compare, but I wonder if most relationships survive because we learn to love someone in different ways depending on the situation...
ReplyDeleteI think that as long as we keep our minds open and continue to grow we will have a stronger bond with our spouse. When we get stagnant then our relationships suffer and in comes the regrets, anger, and distractions that we'd of otherwise not entertained.
DeleteI loved this book SO much! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on what it is like to be married to on person with two parts.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book too and my spouse said he'll read it next chance he gets.
DeleteI loved the book and I love hearing your perspective on the different ways you show up for your husband. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAs a military spouse I've learned that I have to be flexible not only in my schedule but in my attitude as well. Each day tends to be a surprise.
DeleteThat's what I love about our little book club is that we get to experience the book differently everytime we read someone else's post. The questions you pose in your post never even occurred to me...as far as if absence makes the heart grow fonder. Great inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alicia. I hope to get the chance to read more of our book club's posts this week. I just need to an an extra hour to the day and I'll have time!
DeleteDear Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI am really happy you like my book "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" so much. It is like a dream come true for me as an author: I wrote the book hoping it would move and touch its readers and now it does in such a way not only in my native country germany but also in America!
Many thanks and all the best,
Jan-Philipp Sendker
In the late 90's I lived, went to college and worked in Germany. Your homeland is very beautiful and some day I hope to visit it again. Thank you for writing this novel, I hope to share it with my husband when he has more time for pleasure reading.
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