The Heart's Invisible Furies by John BoyneMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK Transworld for my ebook copy of The Heart’s Invisible Furies.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne is the best book I have read this year, one of my all time best, featuring alongside Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and An Equal Music by Vikram Seth. It is that good. A novel that spans seven decades, a tapestry of social and political events in post-war Ireland. A tale of one man seeking happiness, looking for his true self in a country beset by the Catholic church, moral hypocrisy and sexual repression. One man - Cyril Avery.
Who is Cyril Avery? Adopted at birth in 1945 by Charles and Maude Avery his adoptive parents who persist in telling him he is not a real Avery and never will be. Despite this he is well looked after and cared for by the wealthy Averys. He was born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community. Cyril has no idea who his birth mother is. Cyril will spend a lifetime seeking an identity, a journey that will take him to many countries over his three score years and ten when happenstance will feature so often. The reader knows what Cyril doesn’t. Throughout, this results in passages of belly-laughing hilarity and heartbreaking moments that reduced me to tears.
This is the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. It has made me laugh out loud and well up with tears, often on the same page. it reminds us of the redemptive power of the human spirit. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a joy to read, a treasure, near six hundred pages of perfection.
I loved this book and have been fortunate enough to obtain the hardback edition signed by the author. A wonderful keepsake.
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