The Art of Hearing Heartbeats (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker

The Art of Heating Heartbeats is an absolutely beautiful story about a young lawyer, Julia, who takes a leave from her job to investigate her father’s disappearance.  Her father, Tin Win, had mysteriously left for a business trip and never returned and the only hint of his whereabouts was a love letter that had been found from him to a woman in Burma, in his home town.  When Julia arrives in this tiny town, she is met by a stranger who begins to tell her the story of her father and his upbringing and about the heart-wrenching love story he had been embroiled in during his youth.

The story is poetically woven, capturing the reader’s attention at the first page and never letting go.  The characters are as unique as the story itself and the reader cannot help but be drawn in to their story.  Tin Win’s teacher when he was a young boy, for example, became a tender father figure to him and was patient and kind and shared with Tin Win (and the reader) much wisdom.  Even Julia, who starts out as a daughter who feels hurt and angry and abandoned, develops a compassion for her father that she did not know she was capable of.

This is a powerful “love conquers all” story that wins your heart with every beat.

Defending Jacob (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Defending Jacob by William Landay

This book is a definite page turner!  In this book, a district attorney named Andy Barber, is shocked by the fact that his son is the one accused of murdering a fellow student and recounts the story of his trial.  Andy is persistent in proclaiming his son’s innocence and is seemingly blind to the defects in his son’s character that create the possibility of doubt.  His wife, Laurie, however, seems to be more concerned about their son’s personality issues and this difference in perspective seems to slice a wedge into the family dynamics.  As the novel progresses, it becomes evident that there are actually two criminal investigations going on and the ending is a great twist of events.

Even while a bit disturbing and depressing, the suspense is continuous and it is very hard to put this book down.  It will not go down as America’s greatest classic, but it sure is a suspenseful, fun book to read!  Enjoy!

Midwives (migrated from bookblogger)

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Midwives:  A Novel by Chris Bohjalian

This novel, which feels like an autobiography (but isn’t), is a story about a teenage girl whose mother is a midwife brought to trial, accused of killing a patient while assisting her during a home delivery.   This story articulates well the debate between delivery in the home vs. in a hospital/birthing center.  It also speaks to the lay midwives vs. nurse midwives (are there any lay midwives anymore, in our culture of lawsuits and malpractice??).

As a physician, it was interesting for me to read this book, as I am not a fan of the home delivery.  Having seen first hand devastating outcomes from this, I feel one has to be out of her mind to be that far away from potentially life-saving procedures.  In a situation, where minutes, even seconds, count, you want to have everything close by.  The perspective of the author is much more sympathetic, however.  In spite of the bad outcome, the sympathy lies with the midwife in this account (or does it?) and it is a fascinating trial that the book leads up to.

Throughout the book, the author does not give the decision of the trial until the end, which maintains the suspense during the book.  It is a very interesting read.  I’d love to hear what others, especially non-physicians, think!

Gone Girl

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

This is truly the perfect summer/beach read.   The story is about a couple who are about to celebrate their 5th anniversary and suddenly the wife, Amy,  goes missing.  There are, of course, shady circumstances surrounding her disappearance and the story takes many, many very unexpected twists and turns.  This is the kind of book that when you read, your own spouse gets annoyed because every so often you’re yelling at the book (“Oh, no!” or “Seriously??”) like a bit of a fool.  But you won’t be able to stop yourself because it’s that crazy!

I had fun with this one.  The characters are very complicated and while the husband is certainly the protagonist, he’s not exactly a hero in my mind.  And until the very end, the author is relentless with the surprises!

I will admit, I did quite a bit of yelling at the book at the end.  It felt initially as if it stopped short.  But after digesting it for awhile, I realized that it was the way it had to end.

I would love for others to read this one to see if you agree!