The Heart's Invisible Furies: A Novel
From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Boy In the Striped Pajamas, a sweeping, heartfelt saga about the course of one man's life, beginning and ending in post-war Ireland
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Readers say *The Heart's Invisible Furies* is a beautifully written novel that blends humor and tragedy to explore identity, love, and belonging in a ...
DNFed this book 1/2 way through and that's a shame. The writing is excellent, and the characterization of Cyril Avery was flawless. BUT...it is just too foul. Vulgar - disrespectfully vulgar. And I'm not a prude - I swear, but c'mon. I found this book to be an absolute political tripe that was was offensive to Ireland, homosexuality, politics, and religion. It's as if Boyle took all of his personal agendas and crammed them into one story. I have so many questions:
Is it really so implausible that a gay man could find love and happiness? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be implausible, basically impossible, and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
Is it really plausible that EVERY Catholic priest you meet is a pedophile? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
Is it really plausible that all rich parents ignore their children and don't care? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
And the conversations of the boys - how unrealistic. I mean - seven years old discussing perversion and sexual innuendos at a level I'm not sure some high school students think about. It is ridiculous, profane, and frankly, completely unbelievable.
This is the same author as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - and the opening lines of this book were phenomenal. I was ready to make him a "to-read" author. But, I just can't.
I see what all the fuss is about for the writing itself - he weaves solid sentences and grand plot structure, but the boorish and almost malicious approach to so many different aspects of society is hard to ignore. Was there an agenda here? It sure seems so and that is certainly every author's right - but as a reader, I don't have to punish myself as a result.
Is it really so implausible that a gay man could find love and happiness? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be implausible, basically impossible, and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
Is it really plausible that EVERY Catholic priest you meet is a pedophile? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
Is it really plausible that all rich parents ignore their children and don't care? According to Boyle's narrative, it seems to be and that's just not a story line I'm willing to continue reading.
And the conversations of the boys - how unrealistic. I mean - seven years old discussing perversion and sexual innuendos at a level I'm not sure some high school students think about. It is ridiculous, profane, and frankly, completely unbelievable.
This is the same author as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - and the opening lines of this book were phenomenal. I was ready to make him a "to-read" author. But, I just can't.
I see what all the fuss is about for the writing itself - he weaves solid sentences and grand plot structure, but the boorish and almost malicious approach to so many different aspects of society is hard to ignore. Was there an agenda here? It sure seems so and that is certainly every author's right - but as a reader, I don't have to punish myself as a result.
T
thenextgoodbook.com
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
580 pages
What’s it about?
It is 1945 and 16-year-old Catherine Googin finds herself pregnant and alone in a small Irish town. After the parish priest casts Catherine out of town in a very public way- she makes her way to Dublin. Catherine will reappear again in this novel but the main character is Catherine’s out of wedlock son- Cyril Avery. Cyril has a lonely childhood with his adoptive family. It is the 1950’s and the Catholic Church rules Dublin with an iron fist. In this time and place Cyril discovers that he is attracted to boys not girls. And the novel thus really begins….
What did I think?
Wow! John Boyne really has a bone to pick with the Catholic Church of Ireland. His writing is beautiful but the story goes lots of different directions. Boyne does a good job of demonstrating how heart-wrenching being a young gay teenager was in a time of repression. However at times I just wanted to Cyril to be honest with someone- anyone…. At heart this is a character driven novel. The plot sometimes goes awry and I didn't always like Cyril, but it drew me in all the same.
Should you read it?
I enjoyed most of this book. It is certainly a reminder of how painful life can be if you are not in the majority. It is also an interesting look at the harm that religion can do when it is more interested in the rules- than in the person.
Quote-
“But for all we had, for all the luxury to which we were accustomed, we were both denied love, and this deficiency would be scorched into our future lives like an ill-considered tattoo inscribed on the buttocks after a drunken night out, leading each of us inevitably toward isolation and disaster.”
If you like this try-
*A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
*And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
580 pages
What’s it about?
It is 1945 and 16-year-old Catherine Googin finds herself pregnant and alone in a small Irish town. After the parish priest casts Catherine out of town in a very public way- she makes her way to Dublin. Catherine will reappear again in this novel but the main character is Catherine’s out of wedlock son- Cyril Avery. Cyril has a lonely childhood with his adoptive family. It is the 1950’s and the Catholic Church rules Dublin with an iron fist. In this time and place Cyril discovers that he is attracted to boys not girls. And the novel thus really begins….
What did I think?
Wow! John Boyne really has a bone to pick with the Catholic Church of Ireland. His writing is beautiful but the story goes lots of different directions. Boyne does a good job of demonstrating how heart-wrenching being a young gay teenager was in a time of repression. However at times I just wanted to Cyril to be honest with someone- anyone…. At heart this is a character driven novel. The plot sometimes goes awry and I didn't always like Cyril, but it drew me in all the same.
Should you read it?
I enjoyed most of this book. It is certainly a reminder of how painful life can be if you are not in the majority. It is also an interesting look at the harm that religion can do when it is more interested in the rules- than in the person.
Quote-
“But for all we had, for all the luxury to which we were accustomed, we were both denied love, and this deficiency would be scorched into our future lives like an ill-considered tattoo inscribed on the buttocks after a drunken night out, leading each of us inevitably toward isolation and disaster.”
If you like this try-
*A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
*And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
This book was a long journey through a man's life, starting in 1945 and written in seven year intervals until 2015. I went into this book blindly because it has such rave reviews, but I didn't love it as much as the common consensus.
The main character is a gay man that grows up with terrible adoptive parents in an oppressive Irish Catholic community that demonizes homosexuality. Ireland was an awful place to be gay, and they only officially decriminalized homosexuality in 1993! The main character stays closeted for too long out of fear and waits until the worst possible time to let his truth out. He has a bit of a redemption arch, but I didn't think his character was as wonderful as others thought. I will say that the writing was good and the banter was witty.
The main character is a gay man that grows up with terrible adoptive parents in an oppressive Irish Catholic community that demonizes homosexuality. Ireland was an awful place to be gay, and they only officially decriminalized homosexuality in 1993! The main character stays closeted for too long out of fear and waits until the worst possible time to let his truth out. He has a bit of a redemption arch, but I didn't think his character was as wonderful as others thought. I will say that the writing was good and the banter was witty.
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