The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

At age 7, he meets Julian Woodbead, the posh and infinitely charismatic son of Charles’ lawyer, Max. Incessantly reminding Cyril that he’s “not a real Avery,” the two are the opposite of modern-day helicopter parents.

Charles is a philandering banker soon to be jailed for tax fraud, while Maude - a cold, chain-smoking novelist who shuns fame, not to mention a readership - comes off like a bizarre hybrid of Ayn Rand and Anaïs Nin. Somewhat to his detriment, Cyril is then adopted by a pair of unlikely guardians. After giving birth, she promptly hands over the baby to “a little hunchbacked Redemptorist nun” as soon as the umbilical cord is snipped. She flees to Dublin and shacks up with a pair of gents to start anew, one of whom she met on the train on the way over. He is born out of wedlock to a 16-year-old girl who, for fear of bringing shame to the family, is banished from her home. Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore.”įrom there, in a thoroughly captivating chapter, we learn of our protagonist Cyril Avery’s humble beginnings.

The whopper of an opening sentence sets the stage for what’s to come: “Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women. The first begins in 1945, just as World War II is ending. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and will certainly listen/read more from this author.The experiment works on both counts - mostly.īoyne structures “Invisible Furies” in seven-year increments. The author has developed deep characters which resonate well with the story, and he provides some dark satire on some of Ireland and humanities worst characteristics across a spectrum of history, and also provides an inspirational story of resilience and ultimately long awaited happiness. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the audio book despite being a little sceptical about the subject matter to start. The author, John Boyne, wrote this intriguing story with a good deal of Irish humour, and a touch of class which I believe is achievable only when someone writes from their personal experience! I wont give a synopsis of the story itself - there are plenty to choose from.

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne