Book Review: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Boyne’s latest foray into the story of Ireland is much funnier but no less hard-hitting in its social backdrop than his previous novels, including A History Of Loneliness.

It centres on the lifelong trials and tribulations of Cyril Avery, a boy born in 1945 out of wedlock to an Irish mother, who is disgraced by the church and those around her.

Adopted by a pair of middle-class Dublin eccentrics, he strikes up a friendship with a spoilt, risky character, Julian Woodbead.

That friendship provides the link through much of Cyril’s life, told in the first person, in which he comes to terms with being gay in a country, that, until recently scorned homosexuality, his ill-fated relationships, the savagery of the church, the scourge of Aids and other real events which provide a backdrop to the story.

But Boyne creates lightness out of doom, humour out of desperately sad situations and environments, creating a compelling page-turner that really tells the story of Ireland, as well as of a man trying to anchor himself in world with decidedly questionable values. A terrific read.