The Letter by Kathryn Hughes

Kathryn Hughes’ new ebook The Letter offers readers a chance to absorb themselves in the lives of two women, born decades apart but whose lives share a number of parallels. The novel explores two historical strands, bringing together an abused housewife from the 1970s and a young girl from the early 1940s in a story of love, loss and unexpected consequences.

The Letter follows the life of Tina in the 1970s who seeks respite from her abusive marriage by volunteering at a charity shop. One day, while sorting through the pockets of a second-hand suit, she comes across an old letter. It is still firmly sealed and un-franked. Unable to resist the pull of curiosity, Tina opens the letter. It was written on 4th September 1939. She is so moved by the contents and bemused as to why the letter was never delivered, she embarks on a quest to find out what became of the writer and his intended recipient.

The mystery of how this love letter ended up in Tina’s hands is also uncovered through Billy’s story from the early 1940s. He writes a letter that will change his life forever, unaware that it will not be read for another 34 years, and then by a complete stranger.

With a swift pace, memorable characters and a wonderful conceptual depth, Hughes’ novel is one that simply can’t be put down. 

This was a really sweet story, and an interesting concept that had a lot of potential to be an awesome story. There were just a few things that stopped me rating it highly... 

Firstly, the writing style was very basic conversational, and didn't have any 'deep' or profound moments in it. I had to make a conscious decision to keep reading through it, even though it was a bit annoying at first, but I guess that is a compliment to the story line being intriguing enough to hold me.

Secondly, the characters were a bit too nice for my liking. Maybe thats just how respectful people were in 1939 and 1973 and I'm just too jaded by the rude and abrupt ways of 2015, but even the story antagonisers were a bit too easy to hand over information and were a bit too soft to add any strong mystery to the plot. 

It's not a very long story, and moves quite steadily, so I didn't feel like I had to wait forever to get to the point, and given the cheaper price point than most kindle books ($3.99 AUD) at the end I didn't feel too cheated. I would recommend this book to people who are after something light and super easy to read without having to think too much,  but there are plenty of other books on my 'To Read' shelf that I would rate higher than this.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

“I speak of a love that brings sight to the blind. Of a love stronger than fear. I speak of a love that breathes meaning into life, that defies the natural laws of deterioration, that causes us to flourish, that knows no bounds. I speak of the triumph of the human spirit over selfishness and death.”

A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present.  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 reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains. 

I have just finished reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and trying to figure out how I can possibly do my feelings on this book justice by translating them to words. I can only describe it like a soft warm jumper on a cold day - I want to wrap myself in it and stay snuggled up a little bit longer…

There is a quote in the book “Only a few days earlier he had explained to her that he did not merely read books but traveled with them, that they took him to other countries and unfamiliar continents, and that with their help he was always getting to know new people, many of whom even became his friends.”  and this perfectly sums up my reading experience - Sendker's writing is so clear yet whimsical that I feel like I had travelled to Burma myself and was sitting with U Ba listening to him tell me the story firsthand. 

Modern settings don't quite portray  love quite like those from older cultures. I loved the old Burmese fables and lore that were woven through the story, and how it contrasted with the harsh urban lifestyle of New York. There are quite a few of the pearls of wisdom on love and life I have written down and kept for future reference. 

Two of  my all time favourite love stories are Love in the time of Cholera, and The Notebook, and I now will be adding this one to the list.