The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2002

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1, Chapters 1-15

Part 2, Chapters 1-21

Part 3, Chapters 1-12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Themes

Conquering Fear

During their first meeting, U Ba proves to Julia that he knows who she is, tells her that he has been waiting for her to arrive for four years, and asks her “Do you believe in love” (5). When she laughs, he asks the question again. U Ba asks because the central theme of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats is the struggle between fear and love. From the moment this stranger approaches her, Julia is uncomfortable and untrusting; she is fearful. U Ba knows that, to share the message entrusted to him by Julia’s father, she must get past her anxious impatience. He repeatedly approaches her with acceptance, hospitality, and engaging stories of her father’s past—all expressions of affection, as U Ba knows Julia is his half-sister.

The novel’s conflict between fear and love plays out in many ways. Jan-Philipp Sendker contrasts the frightened Mya Mya, who deserts her child out of superstition, with the loving Su Kyi, who watches Tin grow with complete acceptance. Mi Mi’s mother, Yadana, adores her daughter and scolds her husband for not embracing her out of fear—causing him to finally recognize Mi Mi’s worth. Sendker also contrasts the timeless love of Mi Mi, who waited for Tin for 50 years without any knowledge of his whereabouts and relationships, with Tin’s American wife Judith, who fearfully checks his personal affects for signs of cheating and is later glad he is out of her life.

U May explains to his novice, Tin, that fear and rage pervert people’s ability to use their senses and make proper judgments. He says that while everyone fears, there is one power greater than fear—but Tin must not actively look for it. Soon afterward, Tin meets Mi Mi and their love is immediate and lasting. Thus, Sendker frames love as greater than fear—a gift that finds its way to those open to it.

Lost Loved Ones

The novel is a catalog of the various ways one can lose loved ones. Mya Mya, Tin’s mother, watches her brother drown in a raging river and later becomes a widow when a golf ball strikes her husband in the head. Su Kyi’s child dies at birth, and her husband dies within the year from malaria. U May learns that his beloved saw him boarding a ship and, struggling to get to him, fell into the ocean with their child and drowned. U Ba wakes in the morning to find his young wife dead in the bed beside him. Julia remembers her father telling her that he loves her one morning, only to disappear. The central loss of the narrative, however, is Tin and Mi Mi’s separation, caused and exacerbated by Tin’s uncle, U Saw, who saw love as an illness.

Through these various losses, Sendker demonstrates the ways in which grief transforms people. In losing her brother and husband, Mya Mya descends so deeply into superstitious terror that she abandons her child, not knowing or caring if he survived. But in facing similar losses, Su Kyi and U May embrace life, acknowledging that fear and love are intertwined.

The Full Depth of Awareness

Sendker pursues the notion that most people, particularly in urban settings, lack sensory awareness and recognition of what the senses can teach. The clearest example of this is Tin’s ability to hear minute sounds. As Tin becomes aware of his gift, he rejoices in what it can teach him about the world. Mi Mi rides with him every day, identifying sounds which he refers to as a new vocabulary. Forced to move to Rangoon, Tin quickly gains his bearings and is able to run around his uncle’s property. After surgery allows him to see again, he combines his acute hearing with sight, which empowers him to gain new insights: As he listens to the heartbeats of people in ethnically different parts of Rangoon, he realizes that cultural differences are superficial. Everyone’s hearts beat the same yet remain unique.

Tin’s hearing is Sendker’s main example of full depth of awareness. However, he also describes other characters’ newfound awareness. Mi Mi’s tender physical relationship with Tin awakens her to the beauty of her own body. Julia initially judges Kalaw to be barren, but as she listens to U Ba’s story, her sight and sense of smell take in the village’s beauty and diversity. Sendker frames the senses as having a great deal to share, though people often ignore or bar their efforts.

Authoritarianism of the Powerful and Wealthy

The capricious exercise of control by powerful, wealthy people emerges throughout the narrative. Examples of such control appear arbitrarily, much as the powerful change the lives of ordinary people on selfish whims. A golfer accidentally strikes Tin’s father in the head, killing him instantly; he covers some of the burial expenses but asserts no responsibility for the man’s death or the welfare of his family. U May’s father decides to send his son’s lover and child away to a secret place, ultimately denying himself his heir and denying U May a wife and child. U Saw hides Tin and Mi Mi’s letters to shield them from love, which he perceives as an illness; he also forces Tin to become his business partner. Julia’s wealthy maternal grandparents estrange themselves from their daughter because she married Tin, a man of color, against their wishes; furthermore, Julia’s mother Judith openly criticizes merchants and servers for perceived mistakes.

In each case, those in positions of authority make arbitrary decisions that greatly impact others’ lives. Those in power share a similar attitude: They know what is best for those who are “beneath” them. Sendker implies that this mindset is why Tin never sought to engage with his wealthy clients in New York City. He also portrays the poor citizens of Kalaw as egalitarian. Unlike the rich, they allow others to live their lives without attempting to impose their will.