On the Internet there are many positive reviews about the book “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat”. No, this is not a documentary work or psychological training wrapped in the cover of a bestseller. This is one of the best novels about sincere love, true friendship, as well as how it feels to just be a good person, follow the path of good, change for the better and achieve your goals. In a sense, “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat” is a detective story, where the main secret is the hero’s heart and its true purpose.
Solving his tasks, plunging into the secrets of his close and distant relatives, making his way through the complex labyrinths of fate, thought, mystery, the hero still finds himself, starting a new life with a completely different person.
Was the novel a bestseller right after the release? No, Jan Philippe Zendker was a popular writer even before the publication of the book, but it was “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat” that became his most famous work and not only drew attention to the author’s other works, but also became a pass for him in elite literary circles.
Writer
Jan Philipp Zendker is not just a writer. In his youth, he was actively engaged in journalism, published many works devoted to the theory and practice of publishing. Later he devoted a lot of time to the profession of war correspondent, having traveled many hot spots and publishing his impressions and notes in the form of diary entries.
Biography
Jan Philipp Zendker was born in 1960 in Hamburg, Germany. His father was a teacher by profession, and his mother was a housewife. From his father, the writer inherited a love of the word, and from his mother - a subtle sensual nature and an incredible love of life. Young Philip devoted much time to the study of psychology, history, as well as joint activities with his mother. Studying at school was easy for the future writer, teachers noted the boy’s innate tendency to learn and learn about the world around him. Studying was given to Philip without difficulties, the boy quickly learned the material and actively participated in various school creative contests, olympiads, and also attended a literary circle.
Journalist career
After leaving school, Zendker enters the university at the Faculty of Journalism, deciding to connect his life with this difficult profession. As a student, the writer took part in scientific conferences and symposiums devoted to pressing journalism problems in all countries of the world. The guy also published his test work in various newspapers and magazines, finding a part-time job in some publishing houses of his native city. Philip's works were popular with readers and regularly received approval from the masters of journalism.
In the late nineties, Zendker got a job at the world-famous Stern magazine, which allows him to fully engage in literary and journalistic activities. Between 1990 and 1995, the writer worked in America, collecting information for publications devoted to the bohemian life and political events of the continent. In 1995, Zendker moved to work in Asia, never having a permanent place of residence and staying in hotels, working on a business trip and covering the cultural events of Asian countries. Four years passed unnoticed, and in the late nineties Zendker returned to his homeland, ending his career as a journalist. Philip decided to start an active literary activity.
Creative career
Zendker’s writing activity began with the publication of a documentary about China. “Cracks in the Great Wall” appealed to readers, as well as literary critics who knew Philip personally and watched his work, who repeatedly spoke positively about the author's debut work.
In 2006, the writer finishes a new work. The comments on “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat” that followed immediately after the publication of the novel incredibly inspired the author, who did not expect that his second work would be so warmly received by the reading public. The book not only became a national bestseller, but was successfully sold abroad, bringing the author considerable fame and big money, as well as introducing Philip into the world of great literature. Having received many reviews of “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat”, Zendker starts writing a new novel, “Shadows Whisper,” continuing to work in the genre of his choice in the previous work, and paying attention only to deep elaboration of human characters, gradually deviating more and more from direct literature in journalistic psychology. The book secured the success of the second novel of the writer, and after only two years, Philip presents a new work to the literary community - the novel “Playing with a Paper Kite”.
Having finished the book, Zendker flies to America, where for a long time he works on new works, and also has a rest. The writer returned to Germany in 2012, bringing with him a new novel, Voices of Hearts, which also received good reviews from critics and the literary press, but did not become as popular as The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat, which the writer received reviews from all ends of the globe.
Writing a book
Most of all, the young author appreciated silence and solitude in his life, considering them ideal conditions for the creative process. However, while working in Asia, he has to combine the creative process with working everyday activities.
Work on the new novel, “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat,” Jan Philipp Zendker begins while on a business trip to Asia. The final version of the novel consists almost entirely of draft drafts made by the writer during this period. According to the writer himself, he spent most of his free time working on a new book, carefully editing the text and achieving its maximum stylistic uniformity, since he believed that the dignity of the novel should be its philosophical rather than artistic side. The book of Philip Zendker “The Art of Hearing a Beating of the Heart” was immediately described by the author as a philosophical novel, not claiming artistic expression, however, it was the touching book that was remembered for touching lyrics.
Book
Released back in 2006, Zendker’s book became not just a national bestseller, but also entered many of the tops and charts of the best books about love and human psychology. The young writer describes the whole depth of human feelings and the strength of the hopes that a person places on himself and his loved ones. Reviews of “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat” most resemble the cries of the soul of those people who were able to penetrate as deeply as possible the drama of what is happening in the novel.
Plot
The novel tells the story of a successful lawyer - lawyer Tina Vin, who lived his entire conscious life exclusively by the rules, which characterizes him as, of course, a decent citizen. In addition to work, Tin Wing spends his free time with his family and loved ones. Households of a lawyer lead a simple carefree life, similar to the existence of millions of the same inhabitants.
Part one
Tin Win is a fairly successful careerist and is highly respected by both work colleagues and fellow citizens. The fame of an adequate person, inclined to materialism and simplicity, was entrenched to him. Nobody and never seen in any eccentricities, the lawyer suddenly one day disappears, leaving no clues or even a hint of his current whereabouts.
The wife and two children, left alone after the mysterious disappearance of Tin Wing, make no attempt to find him, as the mother of the family is sure that the man simply left the family and began a new life in another country under an assumed name.
Part two
Tina’s daughter, Julia, does not believe in her mother’s version and still asks the police to start an investigation, but it turns out that none of the family members can tell anything about the missing Tina. During his long family life, the lawyer never told anything to his family. Even his wife knew only his age and place of work.
In his book, The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat, Zendker aims to describe the sensory memory of a person. It is thanks to the feelings that we become attached to our loved ones. Is it possible to tell at least something about a native person, if only his inner world is known, and even then only by feelings and sensations? Philip answers this question in his book.
Four years after the sudden disappearance of the father, the daughter finds a letter written by his hand. The paper is addressed to a woman named Mi Mi, whom Tin Wing talks about his love, describing in detail his feelings and emotional impulses. Looking at the address, Julia realizes that the mysterious woman lives very far from their house, but the distance does not stop the girl, and she goes to Burma, where her father was born long ago. Without really understanding how to find Mi Mi, and also without a specific plan, Julia arrives in Burma, and a series of happy coincidences helps the girl find the guardian of her father's secret.
The book "The Art of Listening to the Beating of the Heart" is entirely based on the principle of a sincere search for truth, the principle of fidelity and love for loved ones.
Criticism
The novel of the young German writer was warmly received by the literary community of the whole world. Critics noted an interesting story, the author’s unique style of presentation, the originality of the work, as well as its strong difference from other works on similar topics and exploring the basic principles of human loneliness.
Reviews
The reviews of ordinary readers were also in tune with the opinion of most critics. The book of the young writer really came out extremely lyrical and subtle, delicate, not only in relation to the heroes of the story, but also to the souls and feelings of readers. The reviews on “The Art of Hearing a Heartbeat” indicate that people, first of all, saw the soul of the author himself in the book. His ingenuous and piercing story won many hearts precisely because of its sincerity.