The Literature and Language Book Club will meet from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, September 20 in Room 3N-6 at the Harold Washington Library Center to discuss The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker.
Here are some of the discussion questions from the publisher’s reading guide to consider as you read:
- Tin Win is born to parents who abandon him as a child, but Mi Mi is born into a close-knit family. Mi Mi's mother, especially, adores her daughter. Do you see this developmental difference reflected in the adult each one becomes, or in the way the two relate to one another?
- Prophecy and superstition play a significant role in Burmese culture. Do you think this belief system inspires a fundamental feeling of security or of anxiety in the main characters of the novel, and why?
- The novel contrasts Western and Eastern values: individualism and personal achievement versus kinship and transcendence. Where and how are these differences brought to light?
