THE BASICS
- Title:The Heart’s Invisible Furies
- Author:John Boyne
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Structure: First-person linear narration
- First Line: “Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore.”
Synopsis: Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?
Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.
At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.
In this, Boyne’s most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit
THE GOOD
This book is a piece of art. It’s a book that becomes permanently part of your memory because it’s that good. I haven’t read something this moving since All the Light We Cannot See. John Boyne is a masterful writer. If this is his latest, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
I have to be honest, there’s much more that I love about this book than just these five points. But, I don’t want to drag this on forever. Also, some of the things I love would spoil the book and I don’t believe in putting spoilers in a review. Thus, I’ll list these five in no particular order, but there are so many more things that I also loved and I think you will, too.
- I loved the deep portrayal of Irish culture and literature. Irish literature is one of the under-represented types in the literary world. There’s many subtle pieces and nods to Irish culture that you would miss if you aren’t familiar with them, however. For example, I thought it was great that the book followed one character from the beginning of life to death. It’s common in Ireland to celebrate the beginning of life as conception. So, the book actually begins with the character’s mother when she was pregnant with him. I also read an interview with John Boyne where he explained the main character is meant to represent how Ireland has changed over the last 70 years: a piece of information which made me appreciate the book and intricate writing even more.
- John Boyne is a phenomenal writer. This is one of those rare books that falls into the category of a complete work of art. It is beautifully done. Even though it’s a long read, it’s an easy read because the writing makes it easy to keep pace. Also, I want to take a moment to appreciate the dry humor of this book. I caught myself laughing out loud and pausing to say “read this” to my husband several times. If you’re Catholic or were raised Catholic, you’ll particularly enjoy Boyne’s sense of humor.
- I don’t typically cry with books. It takes a lot to get me there. I don’t really have a particular reason for not getting emotional by most books; it is what it is. But, this book made me cry, especially the ending. It was such a moving story. I loved the way that certain characters kept making reappearances throughout. Overall, this is one of the best stories I’ve ever read.
- There is an underlying current in this book that focuses on important, relevant topics. These topics mainly center on much of the bigotry we encounter in society. From what I understood in that interview (linked above), the main point was to center on the bigotry that ran, and still runs, rampant in Ireland. However, I found that much of what Boyne was shedding light on was incredibly relevant to the world as a whole, especially in the US and the UK. This book is one of those that gives you pause to think about your own prejudices and how they effect others.
- As you know from reading the first line, there is never a dull moment in this book. There’s so many scenes that I would love to highlight, but I don’t talk about context because I don’t want to give away any spoilers! I will say that there was many a moment when I had to set the book down and process what I just read because the plot twist was that good. Boyne keeps the story moving at all times; you just have to keep up.
THE UNFAVORABLE BITS
There are a couple notes that struck me as I read the book. The first thing that I noticed was that children were not portrayed as children. The conversations between two children or an adult and a child read more like a conversation between adults. The vernacular used during those conversations is way too advanced for the age group Boyne attempts to display in those moments.
While the story is great and possibly one of my favorites of all times, there’s many scenes where I question their relevancy. If the goal of the story is to simply follow the main character throughout his entire life, then I say Boyne does an extremely thorough job of it. If the goal of the story is to entertain for every scene, then I think Boyne has gone down more of a Dickens path: a great writer, a great story, not everything is relevant or needed.
The character development of the main character is slow, if not completely nonexistent in some instances. The main character is congruent from his childhood well into his adult years without much moral growth and without a significant development of understanding (or desire to understand) the world around him. This may be intentional as the other characters he interacts with do show significant growth with the times, but the main character’s stagnation is glaring.
As always, I give you a heads up about strong language or graphics in case you’re sensitive, or if the person you’re recommending the book to is sensitive. This book consistently contains graphic material and strong language. However, I do think everything it contains is done in good taste and to advance the story. That said, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone younger than young adult/late teens, especially because the material is advanced.
THE SWEET SPOTS
In this section, I cover some of my deeper, personal thoughts. Books are meant to make you think. I always think the best books are the ones that help you discover pieces of yourself.
- Did this book remind you of anything that has happened to you?: I was born and raised Catholic, so I deeply appreciated John Boyne’s humor throughout this book. He also points to a lot of the hypocrisy Catholics encounter and create. I’ve consistently been aware of many of the hypocrisies of the Church since I was young. I’m glad that I get to live in a time of Pope Francis who is taking these hypocrisies by storm and challenging the Catholic community to be better in many areas. I’m a practicing Catholic and I believe we’re coming into a new era that is more about compassion towards people and less about the politics of “rules”. Boyne does a great job at showing this progression.
- Did this book give you any new ideas of yourself?: It made me think about the pieces of myself that I tend to keep hidden away. I don’t have as big of pieces, or revelations, hidden away as what the main character struggles with, but it did give me pause about little bits of myself that I keep under lock and key out of fear of judgment. We all do it. We all have cards we don’t put on the table out of fear. In the end, we all live and die, so what’s the point of holding back? The people who truly matter will love all the pieces.
- What lesson did you learn?: Life is too short to spend it doing things that you don’t like. Sometimes, you have to roll with the punches. What may seem like a disaster at first can be the best thing that could’ve happened to you. No one is immune to death. Everyone is on the same path, going different directions. Take a moment to appreciate those around you because nothing is permanent. What is here today may not be tomorrow so love while you can and say what you need to say.
CONCLUSION
I gladly rate this book full marks, 5/5 stars. This is a book everyone should pick up at some point. It has earned a permanent place in our library. I imagine that this will be a book that I will read again and again throughout the years. This book is a work of art and is a beautiful story. I don’t think I could ever recommend this book enough. For the last several months, any time someone asks for a book recommendation, this is the title I immediately offer them. If you’re familiar with my reviews, you know I’m a strong critic. So, you also know that it’s a big deal if I ever single out a book as the one everyone should be reading. That’s this book. Don’t hesitate. Just dive in and enjoy experiencing one of the greatest stories published this decade.
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