The Heart's Invisible Furies in Retro Chapter Chicks

Aug 22, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it

Shelves: blogging-for-books, own

UPDATE: In Audible US sale today 12/26/18

The first paragraph of the book is what grabbed me:

Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, 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.

Pretty powerful stuff, that. Little Cyril is telling the story as a babe not even born yet and the story he told, whew. I w ...more

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May 16, 2018 Candi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: european-literature, historical-fiction, chunksters

4.5 stars

"Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, 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."

Catherine Goggin, age sixteen, had the misfortune of finding herself unwed and pregnant in a time and place wholly unforgiving of her condition – the time being the mid-1940s, and the place Ireland, a country 4.5 stars

"Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, 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."

Catherine Goggin, age sixteen, had the misfortune of finding herself unwed and pregnant in a time and place wholly unforgiving of her condition – the time being the mid-1940s, and the place Ireland, a country then in the clutches of an unforgiving Catholic Church. Banished from home and community, Catherine boards a bus to Dublin and a new life. Her newfound freedom will not allow her to keep her baby, however – the people of Dublin are no more empathetic to her plight than those of Goleen. Thus begins Cyril’s life under the care of the Averys, a well-to-do childless couple who are the most unlikely of parents. "Charles Avery, who, along with his wife, Maude, opened their home to me after signing a sizable check to the Redemptorist convent for all their help in the matter of finding a suitable child. From the start, they never pretended to be anything other than my adoptive parents and, in fact, schooled me in this detail from the time I could first understand the meaning of the words."

The Heart’s Invisible Furies takes one on an emotional, turbulent, and often humorous journey spanning seven decades in the life of Cyril Avery. This remarkable novel is told through Cyril’s voice, and his voice is one you will not easily forget. Like his mother before him, Cyril will be ‘guilty’ of a ‘crime’ in Catholic Ireland – homosexuality is as unpardonable as unwed motherhood. Throughout his life, he will experience and suffer from loneliness, lust, hypocrisy and bigotry, love, and grief. Most of all, Cyril’s story is that of the struggle to fit in, accept his identity, and ultimately grasp the always-elusive true happiness. In this pursuit, we will follow Cyril from an unsympathetic Dublin to the more tolerant Amsterdam, to New York City in the grip of the AIDS epidemic, and back once again to a transformed Dublin.

John Boyne is without a doubt a masterful storyteller. At approximately six hundred pages, this is a bit of a tome, but it engages the reader throughout. The pages turn quickly, and I never tired of it. Every character is written thoughtfully; each is unique and with a set of flaws that make him or her memorable and genuine. I even loved the not-so-likeable folks, oozing with so much vitality. Cyril, Catherine, Julian, Charles, Maude, Mary-Margaret and Alice are among the many that nearly walk straight from the pages of the book and into your own life for a time. I think this would have been a very heavy read if Boyne had written this any differently. The humor, sometimes understated and other times undisguised, was sprinkled throughout and was necessary to lighten the tone of a book that could have been brimming with heartache. The brilliant dialogue is what shines the most in this novel. There seemed to be an abundance of coincidences, and I often had to set my incredulity aside and just enjoy the ride.

Whether or not you can identify with Cyril’s struggles of sexuality, you undoubtedly will be able to relate to a desire to be loved, to love freely without prejudice, and to simply belong. Like me, you will probably run through the entire gamut of emotions while reading this – from anger to shock to sorrow and to joy. This is my third John Boyne book and he has not yet failed to impress me with his wonderful writing and captivating tales. ...more

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Mar 10, 2018 Celia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-read, historical-fiction-read, group-bom, audible, fav-authors, 52-2018, stellar-recs, my-reading-fingerprint, kindle-library

Every once in a while a book touches your heart and soul deeply. Two books in my reading history that fall into this category are A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and News of the World by Paulette Jiles. Today I will add a third: The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne.

While reading this book, I was on an emotional roller coaster, laughing one minute, crying the next. The story of Cyril Avery is that well-crafted: well-developed characters, compelling prose, engaging plot line.

Cyril Avery ...more

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Jul 13, 2020 Maureen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ireland, rcsummer-challenge

5+ stars
“Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleagueand one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady of the Sea in the parish of Golean, West Cork and denounced my mother as a whore”

This story is told in the voice of Cyril Avery.
Ireland 1945
Catherine Coggin is a 16 year old young girl who is pregnant, when she is denounced by the Catholic Church and her family. There is no worse disgrace to a Catho ...more

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Aug 05, 2017 Tasha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites-2018, own

Amazing, 5 very solid stars!

I just finished this morning and seriously, wow, this book is amazing. I LOVED it. Every minute reading this book was time well spent and let me tell you, I savored it. When I take my time like I did with this one, I know it's going to be a favorite. John Boyne is an incredible writer, his talent is amazing. I know, I'm gushing but it's so gush worthy. I hope I'm not overselling it here but this is my fifth book by John Boyne so that says a lot as well.

A strong chara ...more

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Dec 31, 2022 Lory Sakay rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm titling a new genre...fictional memoir. This story of the life of Cyril Avery was genuine, touching, interesting, and tragic. This is one fictional character I would love to meet. John Boyne did an excellent job in shaping him and telling his story... so witty. The quirky, hilarious side characters and interactions had me LMAO, despite the train wrecks experienced in-between. I could easily see Cyril being a real, life human being sharing his experiences, challenges, and small victories thro ...more

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Apr 01, 2018 Taylor rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, first-reads

Thank you so much to Goodreads Giveaways for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful book. My only complaint about this book is the cover which is really dull and not at all enticing although I see that it is much improved in the paperback editions. If I had not won this book, it is doubtful that I would ever have picked it up. Beyond the dreadful cover, this book was so very fabulous. I loved the characters, the story, the writing, the humour (unexpected and perhaps inappropriate but s ...more

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