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Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexism, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing
Moderate: Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
We, the reader, follow the protagonist Cyril Avery through his entire life in several parts separated by seven-year time skips. I loved that structure and think it was very well executed. The way everything that happens in Cyril's life seems interconnected, and some people remain constant during all stages, while unrealistic, made for a very engaging read. I honestly would not have thought I'd rate this book a solid five stars after the first half because some characters' atrocious actions seemed to be explained away with too little discussion for my liking. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the latter chapters addressed every issue and tied up Cyril's life story so well that I wouldn't change anything about it.
This also made for very realistic character development for Cyril and the other characters. Cyril's internal monologue changes and grows with him. Still, he maintains a very distinctive style. He describes his life's story with so much wit and humor that I laughed out loud several times. Literally.
Some plot points and most of the dialogue seem entirely unrealistic. However, I found that I had a better experience with the novel overall after I accepted that Cyril might not be the most reliable narrator and the events were simply told through his eyes. For example, both Cyril and Julian's obsession with sex from an extremely young age seemed extremely disturbing and not at all funny to me, but given the trajectory of Cyril's life and the role his own sexuality colored almost every aspect of the first few decades of his life, it kind of makes sense that he would fixate on and exaggerate these parts of his early life.
My favorite part, as much as I loved Cyril's journey, remained the first one. I thought having Cyril narrate his mother's story despite not being born at the time was a very interesting narrative choice. I would totally read an entire novel told in that way.
In conclusion, this one goes firmly on my list of recommendations! It touched some very deep emotions in me and managed to make me laugh on the way.
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt
The Heart's Invisible Furies is incredibly moving, with each chapter narrating Cycil's life in seven year increments. Despite the hardship of his life, from growing up gay in Ireland in the 40s to the AIDs pandemic in the 80s, Cycil's narration is incredibly funny. Often blinded by his own emotions, it's easy to get swept up in his struggles through relationships and identity, that when revelations come to life I was as shocked as he was. The plot had predictable moments with threads of coincidences too good to be true weaving throughout the story, but it's something that doesn't deminish how much I loved this book.
If you can give yourself enough time to read this book in one sitting, I fully recommend it.
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol