The Heart’s Invisible Furies
The Heart’s Invisible Furies ~ John Boyne
Cyril Avery is born in Dublin in 1945, to a young unwed woman, Catherine, who relinquishes him to a convent to be adopted. He is raised by Maude and Charles Avery, a couple who want a son because it seems the thing to do. Maude is a writer and is mostly interested in writing her books and chain smoking cigarettes. Charles is a businessman (I don’t remember what he does actually) and is kind of shady. One day when Cyril is 7, Charles’ lawyer comes to the house with his two young children, Julian (7) and Alice (5 or 6). Julian and Cyril play a bit of “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours”, and while Cyril doesn’t really understand sex or sexuality, he begins to understand that he is attracted to boys. The novel follows Cyril through his life, from 1945 to about 2015, through the repression and hatred towards gays in Ireland and the Church in the 50s and 60s, the more open societies of Amsterdam and New York in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, up to the new millennium with increased understanding and acceptance. I liked Cyril as a character, though there were a couple of times when I wanted to punch him in the face. I felt like his character really grew and developed, and the writing was beautiful.
I loved this book. It was long but didn’t feel it. It reminded me of what ‘A Little Life’ could have been if that novel weren’t quite so focused on unrelenting suffering. (I’ve heard that book described as ‘torture porn’, and that’s exactly how I felt about it. Also that god damned ending. BAH.) There is suffering here too, but also joy, redemption, forgiveness, and love in its many forms. Highly recommended.
9 Comments
Pat B
I LOVED this book! It was one of my fave books over the past few years. It is such a wel written story and laugh out loud funny at times. I hated for it to end. I like your comparison to A Little Life – it would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t so painful for the entire book.
J
I’m so glad you loved it too! Really well done, right?
Margaret
This is a classic…yet another one I haven’t read. We’ve had a few Book Club books that I considered tragedy porn but this one sounds not so dreary.
J
This one is definitely not tragedy porn. Bad things happen, but not relentlessly.
Lisa's Yarns
I adored this book! Cyril is one of my all-time favorite characters! I usually don’t re-read books but this is a book I would re-read. All of Boynes books have been excellent. He has a series of novellas that have only been published in the UK so far. I’m anxious for them to be released in the US so I can check them out.
J
I loved Cyril too, except when I wanted to punch him in the face. (Just that one time) I love love loved Catherine, too. She was perfection.
NGS
Nope. I’m not here for suffering anymore. I live in these United States in 2025. I am now only reading lighthearted books. For the next…indefinite amount of time.
J
That’s fair!
Nicole MacPherson
I liked this book a lot too! Great writing.