Though he is deceased from the start of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, Tin is the protagonist of the novel. His daughter, Julia, describes him as a brilliant, quiet, introspective man who comes off as old-fashioned in his appearance and preferences. Born in Burma, he is tall, handsome, and dark-skinned with a prominent nose and thick glasses. Tin appeals to women to the extent that Julia’s mother’s marriage to him feels like the culmination of a competition. A trusted attorney for high-profile clients in New York City, he possesses near-photographic memory and is a perfect judge of character.

Tin spent his early life in the mountain village of Kalaw. The only child of lower-class parents, he had the misfortune of a Saturday birthday in December, making him a perpetual source of calamity to his mother, Mya Mya. Though he is an obedient child, Mya Mya abandons him when he is only five, by which time he has already begun to develop cataracts. Tin becomes completely blind at 10.

Through the oversight of his unofficial caretaker Su Kyi and chief monk U May, Tin receives education, social training, and philosophy at a Buddhist monastery until he is 18—when his wealthy uncle, U Saw, summons him to Rangoon.