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nerdinthelibrary 's review for:
The Heart's Invisible Furies
by John Boyne
content warnings: homophobia, racism, misogyny, slut shaming, religious hatred, hate crimes, emotional manipulation, paedophilia, incest, sexual assault, complications during childbirth, infanticide, loss of a loved one, murder, violence, terrorism, abduction, mutilation, child abuse, depictions of aids/hiv, depictions of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
representation: gay main character who becomes physically disabled, side gay/bi characters, main and side m/m relationships
“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”
You would think that if it took me a month and a half to finish a book that would mean that I didn't enjoy it very much, but in this case it was entirely the opposite. The reason why this took me so long is because it's over 600 pages and (especially towards the start) very depressing, not because I wasn't enjoying it.
This book is about Cyril Avery, a boy born in 1945 in Ireland to an unmarried teenage girl who immediately puts him up for adoption. He's adopted by Maude and Charles Avery and is reminded every day of his childhood that he's not a real Avery. Then the book follows him every 7 years through his life, from birth until he's 70.
I loved, loved, loved this book so much. John Boyne is one of my favourite authors, he wrote The Absolutist which is one of my favourite books of all-time, and The Heart's Invisible Furies definitely did not disappoint.
In typical John Boyne fashion, no one is too likable in this, and that includes the protagonist. Everyone's kind of a dick and has foot-in-mouth syndrome, but that only serves to make the story feel more realistic and particularly to make it seem like Cyril is a real person whose life we're following. In fact, out of all the characters, Cyril is up there with doing some of the worse things, but even if you don't agree with what he's doing or saying, you understand why he's doing or saying it.
I need to warn you before you go into this that John Boyne is physically incapable of writing happy stories and this book features some extremely heavy shit as outlined in the content warnings, and for majority of this book Cyril is more or less miserable. Surprisingly, though, this is probably one of the most hopeful books he's ever written.
Honestly, there's not much else left to say. I don't think this book is for everyone, but if you're a fan of John Boyne's adult work then I definitely think you'll like this one.
representation: gay main character who becomes physically disabled, side gay/bi characters, main and side m/m relationships
“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”
You would think that if it took me a month and a half to finish a book that would mean that I didn't enjoy it very much, but in this case it was entirely the opposite. The reason why this took me so long is because it's over 600 pages and (especially towards the start) very depressing, not because I wasn't enjoying it.
This book is about Cyril Avery, a boy born in 1945 in Ireland to an unmarried teenage girl who immediately puts him up for adoption. He's adopted by Maude and Charles Avery and is reminded every day of his childhood that he's not a real Avery. Then the book follows him every 7 years through his life, from birth until he's 70.
I loved, loved, loved this book so much. John Boyne is one of my favourite authors, he wrote The Absolutist which is one of my favourite books of all-time, and The Heart's Invisible Furies definitely did not disappoint.
In typical John Boyne fashion, no one is too likable in this, and that includes the protagonist. Everyone's kind of a dick and has foot-in-mouth syndrome, but that only serves to make the story feel more realistic and particularly to make it seem like Cyril is a real person whose life we're following. In fact, out of all the characters, Cyril is up there with doing some of the worse things, but even if you don't agree with what he's doing or saying, you understand why he's doing or saying it.
I need to warn you before you go into this that John Boyne is physically incapable of writing happy stories and this book features some extremely heavy shit as outlined in the content warnings, and for majority of this book Cyril is more or less miserable. Surprisingly, though, this is probably one of the most hopeful books he's ever written.
Spoiler
After reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Absolutist I was 100% expecting Cyril to die at the end, but no, he was just two months away from death.Honestly, there's not much else left to say. I don't think this book is for everyone, but if you're a fan of John Boyne's adult work then I definitely think you'll like this one.