Book Review: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
Posted on: 2018-06-05
Our rating:
Despite being a story of torment and a man’s desperate search for happiness, it does not seem like a miserable tale but rather an honest and touching one that brings awareness to the constant struggles that unite people all over the world.
This is an absolute gem of a book, one that I found both heart-breaking and heart-warming in equal measures. Irish novelist John Boyne follows the oppressive nature of the Catholic Church in Ireland from the 1940s all the way to 2015 where the novel concludes. He writes about the devastating struggle for sexual freedom through the eyes of Cyril Avery, a surprisingly witty protagonist rooted in the centre of this sad and unjust tale.
It is difficult not to be gripped by this storyline from the moment go as Cyril’s journey begins from just after his conception, shortly after which his sixteen years old Mother is denounced as a whore by the parish priest in front of the whole congregation in West Cork. She is cast out by her family and loved ones to go on and find her own way in the world. His mother Kitty gives him up for adoption and we follow his journey as life throws various obstacles his way.
I was recently asked if I was stranded on a desert island but could have three books with me, what would they be? I immediately responded that this novel would be one of them and largely for its characters. The plot is interesting, the themes are challenging, the writing is engaging but I honestly think that Boyne’s characters are what give this novel its edge. I imagine being stranded on a desert island would be a pretty lonely situation to find myself in but I think if I had Cyril and his wit, Julian and his charm, Maude and her stories and Charles and his eccentricity, it wouldn’t seem such a lonesome place. All of Boyne’s characters are so vibrant and full to the brim with life that they would certainly provide an aspect of companionship regardless of whether they are fictional or not.
The majority of Boyne’s characters are complex and troubled individuals that hurt each other and get hurt in return. Although Cyril is a very charismatic and witty protagonist (I often found myself imitating his Irish accent inside my head whilst reading), he certainly isn’t the saintliest character himself. I think his flaws are what make him so likeable; his mistakes never come from a spiteful place but more so reflect how much of a struggle being gay was in this time and era. The character of Cyril evolves as he encounters different people and moves to various places as the novel progresses. The young Cyril that grows up in Dublin is troubled and confused. He is certain that he is gay but knows that he cannot openly admit it, not even to his nearest and dearest. The consequences of doing so could even put him in jail as this is an era where being gay and engaging in sexual activity with the same sex was actually illegal. Consequently Cyril feels obliged to publicly engage in relationships with the opposite sex in order to adhere to social norms and expectancies which results in him feeling all the more desperate and trapped.
The fact that the beginning of this novel is set in Ireland is extremely relevant to John Boyne’s own life and experiences; reading the Author’s Note at the end caused me to reflect on the social and political struggles that Cyril experienced. It really struck me that this wasn’t just the battle of Cyril Avery, fictional character, but the story of many many others from all over the globe. After finishing The Heart’s Invisible Furies I felt very grateful to John Boyne for including his short note at the end. I found it refreshingly open and honest. He admits that this is one of the few times he has written about something personal and that many of his romantic experiences in life have been along a similar path to Cyril’s.
After living most of his youth in Ireland, Cyril then moves to Amsterdam, which he discovers is a much more liberal and accepting place to live. He is alarmed to see two men holding hands walking down the street and gay couples showing one another affection in public. In this city Cyril seems to become a much more grounded and content character. He openly accepts his sexuality because he is allowed to openly accept it. His boyfriend Bastiaan sheds light on how to participate in a healthy and loving relationship. Bastiaan is probably one of the most straightforward characters this novel has. He seems to represent the concept of being homosexual without facing discrimination, perhaps casting a beacon of light onto the pages for future generations. However along his way Cyril comes to realise that Amsterdam is a city with its own problems. He becomes entangled with a young boy who is being prostituted out to men on the streets of the city, a situation that is widely familiar in Amsterdam.
The novel then jumps ahead to 1987 and Cyril is now residing in New York and volunteering at Mount Sinai Hospital in the AIDS unit. New York is battling against the AIDS epidemic which homosexuals are wrongly being blamed and victimised for. This part of the book is deeply harrowing as Cyril describes the various patients suffering from such a horrible and widely deemed shameful illness, some of whom lash out at Cyril himself for the injustice that he the homosexual is fit and well, but they the heterosexual are not. I found this section of the novel extremely eye-opening as Boyne tactfully captures the voices and opinions of numerous different people regarding the AIDS epidemic and not just those suffering from the illness.
Boyne’s greatest achievement in The Heart’s Invisible Furies is surely the abysmal comedy of Cyril’s youth and the possibility of making readers really laugh at the horrific events he faces throughout his life. The characters that are constantly shunted seem to be the ones that continue to stand strong against the injustices that are forced their way. Despite being a story of torment and a man’s desperate search for happiness, it does not seem like a miserable tale but rather an honest and touching one that brings awareness to the constant struggles that unite people all over the world.
Article by:
Katie is a Drama and Theatre Arts graduate and has lived in Bristol for two years now after growing up and studying in Birmingham. She is a bookworm that also loves cooking, eating and drinking out with lovely people.
