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A review by jsncnrd
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
5.0
Wow. Only my third book of 2024, and it may likely end up my favorite book of the year. It feels like this will be impossible to beat. I tend to shy away from longer books, but I am so happy I decided to finally pick this one up. I have never read anything like it.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a sprawling, epic novel following the life of Cyril Avery. A character I will never forget, and who will hold space in my heart for ages to come. The story takes us everywhere from small villages in Ireland all the way to New York City, across 7 decades.
John Boyne’s writing is immaculate. The way in which he can break your heart with emotional plot points and poetic writing, coupled with his innate wit is simply perfection. The dark humor is expertly delivered at the absolute right moments. The book never takes itself too seriously but is still able to deliver heartbreaking moments that feel like gut punches.
The characters are so vivid and well-developed that you almost feel like you have your own relationship with them by the end of the book. The time I spent with them felt so meaningful. And when tragedy befell them, you couldn’t help but take it personally.
The book tackles so many important themes:
What it means to be queer in a society that is against you – and the alienation that accompanies it. Empathy. Violence. Honesty. Survival. Religious hypocrisy. Holding on and letting go. And one of the most important subjects in the book – Forgiveness.
I’m known to cry at the end of books – and this one had me in tears at 3:00 AM on a Friday night. But when a story means so much to you that you find yourself crying all the time throughout the span of a 600-page book? That’s special. At times, I was gutted – cut to the bone. At other times, my heart was so full that I couldn’t help but smile.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a book that reminds us what it means to be human – and all the tragedy, grief, trauma, love, happiness, friendship, and confusion that comes along with it.
This book has entered my Top 10 Books of All Time territory. An absolute masterpiece that I will be recommending for the rest of my life.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a sprawling, epic novel following the life of Cyril Avery. A character I will never forget, and who will hold space in my heart for ages to come. The story takes us everywhere from small villages in Ireland all the way to New York City, across 7 decades.
John Boyne’s writing is immaculate. The way in which he can break your heart with emotional plot points and poetic writing, coupled with his innate wit is simply perfection. The dark humor is expertly delivered at the absolute right moments. The book never takes itself too seriously but is still able to deliver heartbreaking moments that feel like gut punches.
The characters are so vivid and well-developed that you almost feel like you have your own relationship with them by the end of the book. The time I spent with them felt so meaningful. And when tragedy befell them, you couldn’t help but take it personally.
The book tackles so many important themes:
What it means to be queer in a society that is against you – and the alienation that accompanies it. Empathy. Violence. Honesty. Survival. Religious hypocrisy. Holding on and letting go. And one of the most important subjects in the book – Forgiveness.
I’m known to cry at the end of books – and this one had me in tears at 3:00 AM on a Friday night. But when a story means so much to you that you find yourself crying all the time throughout the span of a 600-page book? That’s special. At times, I was gutted – cut to the bone. At other times, my heart was so full that I couldn’t help but smile.
The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a book that reminds us what it means to be human – and all the tragedy, grief, trauma, love, happiness, friendship, and confusion that comes along with it.
This book has entered my Top 10 Books of All Time territory. An absolute masterpiece that I will be recommending for the rest of my life.