
A Well-Tempered Heart
A Novel
-
Narrated by:
-
Cassandra Campbell
About this listen
The sequel to the international bestselling novel The Art of Hearing Heartbeats.
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 private life 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 is lost 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. In the 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 her two young sons to be child soldiers. This spirited sequel, like The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, explores the most inspiring and passionate terrain: The human heart.
©2014 Jan-Philipp Sendker (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
-
-
Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
-
The Heart Remembers
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Bo Bo lives with his uncle U Ba in Kalaw, a town in Burma. An unusually perceptive child, Bo Bo can read people’s emotions in their eyes. This acute sensitivity only makes his unconventional home life more difficult: His father comes to visit him once a year, and he can hardly remember his mother, who, for unclear reasons, keeps herself away from her son. Everything changes when Bo Bo discovers the story of his parents’ great love, which threatens to break down in the whirlwind of political events, and of his mother’s mysterious sickness.
-
-
So very moving!
- By Kim Foster on 10-25-22
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Story Telling At Its Best
- By Regina on 05-06-23
By: Abraham Verghese
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
-
The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
-
-
Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be - until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the listener’s belief in the power of love to move mountains.
-
-
Basic Story Interesting, But...
- By Monica on 06-04-13
-
The Heart Remembers
- A Novel
- By: Jan-Philipp Sendker
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Bo Bo lives with his uncle U Ba in Kalaw, a town in Burma. An unusually perceptive child, Bo Bo can read people’s emotions in their eyes. This acute sensitivity only makes his unconventional home life more difficult: His father comes to visit him once a year, and he can hardly remember his mother, who, for unclear reasons, keeps herself away from her son. Everything changes when Bo Bo discovers the story of his parents’ great love, which threatens to break down in the whirlwind of political events, and of his mother’s mysterious sickness.
-
-
So very moving!
- By Kim Foster on 10-25-22
-
The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Story Telling At Its Best
- By Regina on 05-06-23
By: Abraham Verghese
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
So incredibly boring
- By Rhonda Morrison on 08-05-23
By: Ann Patchett
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
-
The Book of Longings
- A Novel
- By: Sue Monk Kidd
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò, Sue Monk Kidd
- Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with 18-year-old Jesus changes everything.
-
-
Made me cringe
- By Joan on 05-08-20
By: Sue Monk Kidd
-
Cutting for Stone
- A Novel
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 23 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.
-
-
An Epic Medical Novel
- By Audiophile on 07-11-09
By: Abraham Verghese
-
The River We Remember
- A Novel
- By: William Kent Krueger
- Narrated by: CJ Wilson
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife.
-
-
Mediocre!
- By KEK on 09-08-23
-
Horse
- A Novel
- By: Geraldine Brooks
- Narrated by: James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kentucky, 1850. An enslaved groom named Jarret and a bay foal forge a bond of understanding that will carry the horse to record-setting victories across the South. When the nation erupts in civil war, an itinerant young artist who has made his name on paintings of the racehorse takes up arms for the Union. On a perilous night, he reunites with the stallion and his groom, very far from the glamor of any racetrack.
-
-
Love Geraldine Brooks
- By Regina on 06-25-22
By: Geraldine Brooks
-
Hello Beautiful
- A Novel
- By: Ann Napolitano
- Narrated by: Maura Tierney
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all.
-
-
Book was great, performance terrible
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-23
By: Ann Napolitano
-
The Personal Librarian
- By: Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.
-
-
A Treat For This Academic Librarian!
- By AlTonya on 07-14-21
By: Marie Benedict, and others
-
Our Missing Hearts
- A Novel
- By: Celeste Ng
- Narrated by: Lucy Liu, Celeste Ng
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother, Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him.
-
-
Listen to the sample
- By Sunny White on 10-11-22
By: Celeste Ng
-
The Echo of Old Books
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Davis
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Steve West, Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer’s affinity for books extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather. She can feel the echoes of the books’ previous owners—an emotional fingerprint only she can read. When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession. Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors, Hemi and Belle, tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.
-
-
Couldn’t finish it
- By Lady Chaps on 03-31-23
By: Barbara Davis
-
Honor
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past.
-
-
Wow.
- By Robert Bryant on 01-19-22
By: Thrity Umrigar
-
The Secret Life of Sunflowers
- By: Marta Molnar, Dana Marton
- Narrated by: Kendra Murray
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Hollywood auctioneer Emsley Wilson finds her famous grandmother's diary while cleaning out her New York brownstone, the pages are full of surprises. The first surprise is, the diary isn't her grandmother's. It belongs to Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law.
-
-
Nothing like a expected…
- By LOVETOQUILT on 05-06-23
By: Marta Molnar, and others
-
The Kitchen Front
- A Novel
- By: Jennifer Ryan
- Narrated by: Jasmine Blackborow
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two years into World War II, Britain is feeling her losses: The Nazis have won battles, the Blitz has destroyed cities, and U-boats have cut off the supply of food. In an effort to help housewives with food rationing, a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest - and the grand prize is a job as the program’s first-ever female co-host. For four very different women, winning the competition would present a crucial chance to change their lives.
-
-
Utterly
- By esther garcia on 04-19-21
By: Jennifer Ryan
-
Shantaram
- A Novel
- By: Gregory David Roberts
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 42 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
-
-
Probably the best performance I've listened to.
- By Mickey on 04-15-14
-
Once We Were Brothers
- By: Ronald H. Balson
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Elliot Rosenzweig, a respected civic leader and philanthropist, is attending a fundraiser when he is suddenly accosted and accused of being a former Nazi SS officer named Otto Piatek, the Butcher of Zamosc. Although the charges are denounced as preposterous, his accuser is convinced he is right and engages attorney Catherine Lockhart to bring Rosenzweig to justice.
-
-
5-Star Thriller with History and Heart
- By Ella on 11-22-14
By: Ronald H. Balson
Critic reviews
Listen to your heart
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Some places I would have liked more details but it doesn't take away from the story.
The narration was just to softly spoken and slow for me.
Beautiful story!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hauntingly Beautiful!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What made the experience of listening to A Well-Tempered Heart the most enjoyable?
The whole book was well written and performed. I was enthralled, taken right into the lives of the characters. I couldn't stop listening. It was poignant & sad at times, beautiful at others, with a gentle philosophy flowing throughout the book. We are left, in the end, not sure what will happen, but that's ok, life's like that.I loved this book.
What about Cassandra Campbell’s performance did you like?
Understated, calm, natural, very pleasant to listen toAny additional comments?
I loved itWhat a beautiful story
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
In this emotionally driven and passionate sequel to "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats," Julia returns to Burma to find her brother and answers to her own heartbeats.Sendker Does it Again
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
New Favorite
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
What did you love best about A Well-Tempered Heart?
I read his first book - "The art of hearing heart beat" which is pretty much a must to start with before reading this one. They are both written like a poem , like a melody of one's spirit. The book left me thinking and wondering about one's choices in life and the always existing opportunity to forgive and move on. Listening to one's Intuition is the key element which spoke to me.What other book might you compare A Well-Tempered Heart to and why?
the first book -" The art of hearing heartbeat" and "on thousand white woman" by Jim Fergus.Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me walk more as this is when I listen to my books and volunteer to every carpool suggested so I could listen to it in the car.......Any additional comments?
Grab!a book that touches all senses
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
If my friend had read The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, yes.It was interesting to follow up on some of the same characters from the first book but at the same time I found this story lacking in continuity in the end. I can't say more about it because I don't want to ruin it for other listeners.
As for the narration Cassandra delivers another magnificent performance in this book. She is at the top of the list for me.
Would you be willing to try another book from Jan-Philipp Sendker? Why or why not?
Not sure at this time.Which scene was your favorite?
It wasn't so much as one scene but the bond between two siblings that have lived apart all their lives, and come from such different backgrounds. I found that very moving.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Not really.Any additional comments?
Anybody who has read Kate Norton's books might understand what I meant by lack of continuity. Norton has a real gift when it comes to tying up all the loose ends beautifully at the end of the story.NOT AS GOOD AS THE FIRST ONE
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Can’t recommend it highly enough.
The narration was perfect.
Wonderful
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.