Book Review of The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

"A line came into my mind, something that Hannah Arendt once said about the poet Auden: that life had manifested the heart's invisible furies on his face". Any author who takes a quote from Hannah Arendt, a German-born American political theorist, professor and writer of books like The Origins of Totalitarianism and Eichmann in Jerusalem, who was the subject of the fascinating movie, Hannah Arendt, to be the title of his book, is an author to take note of and I took 40 of them as I read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne. What amazes me is that I hadn't heard of this author before becoming aware of this book. How I became aware of this book is thanks to Elyse, a most voracious reader and reviewer, who I'm proud to call my Goodreads friend! She called it the best book of 2017 and bubbled over with enthusiasm for the writing, the characters, the dramatic backdrop of Irish politics, culture and church. Elyse was passionate about the book and I dare say, I am too. 

Elyse mentioned in her review that the dialogue of a particular character, Mary-Margaret Muffet, was particularly funny. I will expound on that. The first two parts of the book, and the end of the last part, are filled with dialogue that for me was LOL funny. The humor in this book is one of its characteristics that I most enjoyed. I highlighted several examples on my Kindle (one of the many functions I love about Kindle), which can be found on Goodreads (one of the functions of Goodreads that l like, as well as the other readers and reviewers it allows you to meet). 

Boyce is in fact a master of dialogue and wonderfully skilled in  the way he draws his characters, both of which frequently put me in mind of the great story writer, O. Henry (I wondered if O. Henry was an influence on Boyce's writing). In fact, I think it is the dialogue per se that serves to draw the memorable characters, starting with Cyril, the narrator and central character. His life starts in Ireland in 1945 and ends there in 2015 when he dies. Between those years Cyril lives in Amsterdam and New York City. The book visits Cyril every seven years throughout his life. We see what it was like to be Gay in Ireland where it was illegal and thought to be disgusting and could only be hidden because gay men were routinely beaten and even murdered for their sexual orientation, with no repercussions. We see how life in Ireland is fundamentally influenced by the Church and more specifically the Priests and the hypocrisy therein. Cyril's life carries us through the book, but it is often the other characters, for example his "adopted" parents, Charles and Maude, his best friend and object of his lust and love, Julius, a few of the priests, his "girlfriend", Mary-Margaret Muffet, and others who give the book its gusto and hilarity. 

“I always called them Charles and Maude, never ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’. This was on Charles’s insistence as I wasn’t a real Avery. It didn’t bother me particularly but I know it made other people uncomfortable and once, in school, when I referred to them thus, a priest punched me around the ears and told me off for being modern.”

This novel was as insightful as it was long (close to 600 pages) and I would not delete one word. It's one of those books that makes you laugh, cry, think, learn and wish it would never to end.