A Well-Tempered Heart

Almost ten years have passed since Julia Win came back from Burma, her father's native country. Though she is a successful Manhattan lawyer, her privatelife is at a crossroads; her boyfriend recently left her, she has suffered a miscarriage, and she is, despite her wealth, unhappy with her professional life. Julia islost and exhausted.

One day, in the middle of an important business meeting, she hears a stranger's voice in her head that causes her to leave the office without explanation. Inthe following days, her crisis only deepens. Not only does the female voice refuse to disappear, but it starts to ask questions Julia has been trying to avoid.Why do you live alone? To whom do you feel close? What do you want in life?

Interwoven with Julia's story is that of a Burmese woman named Nu Nu who finds her world turned upside down when Burma goes to war and calls on hertwo young sons to be child soldiers. This spirited novel, like The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain: the humanheart.

“'This is the kind of stunningly perfect novel that changes lives'”

-- Claire Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author

'Sendker [is] a mesmerizing storyteller'

Kirkus

'Incredibly beautiful and moving' 

RT Book Reviews

'[T]ruly an original, the author’s prose flawless and evocative'

Historical Novels Review

'A portrayal of how love and compassion can heal even the most terrible wounds [. . .] A book to lift your spirits'

-- Sue Broom LoveReading.co.uk

'[A] beautiful book, with a powerful sense of place, which leaves the reader wondering on the universal consequences of love, loss, suffering and forgiveness'

-- Catherine Larner, bookseller

Jan-Philipp Sendker, born in Hamburg in 1960, was the American correspondent for Stern from 1990 to 1995, and its Asian correspondent from 1995 to 1999. He has travelled extensively in China and Burma and has an in-depth knowledge of the people and culture. In 2000 he published Cracks in the Great Wall, a non-fiction book about China. Global bestseller The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was his first novel.

Julia Win, a successful Manhattan lawyer, is at a crossroads in her life. Despite her wealth and privilege, she is exhausted and unhappy - a lost soul. She returns to Burma, the homeland of her father, where she encounters an anguished mother whose life is shattered when her two sons are called up from their rural village to fight in Burma's civil war. Both women embark on their own journeys of self-discovery, experiencing heartbreak, horror, love and, ultimately, redemption. This mesmerising novel explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain of all: the human heart.

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