John Boyne's books are a gift to everyone who values excellent literary fiction. Particularly noteworthy is his very compelling A History of Loneliness. Each of his novels is different in plot and character development, but they are all beautifully written. This one is dedicated to John Irving, a tribute to another gifted author whose Owen Meany character lives forever in the hearts of his readers.
The Heart's Invisible Furies is narrated by Cyril Avery from in utero and then throughout his eventful life. Born to an unwed adolescent in Dublin in 1945, he is adopted by an eccentric, wealthy couple. As an only child, his family life is dysfunctional in the extreme with constant reminders by his adoptive parents that he is not their birth child. Living in homophobic Ireland during a time when cruel epithets and possible incarceration were the fate of gay people, Cyril is lonely and challenged to present a fraudulent façade. His best friend, Julian, since childhood is the singular object of his desire, although Julian is doggedly heterosexual. Unfortunately, Julian's sister is caught in Cyril's web of deceit with unforeseen results.
The book, divided in seven-year increments from 1945 to 2015, provides an unflinching look at the traumatic events of that time frame as Cyril travels from Ireland to Amsterdam to America and then back to Ireland for unexpected reunions. This is an epic saga of a man determined to find peace in a place where he belongs.
Thank you to LibraryThing and Doubleday for providing me with an ARC of this excellent book.
The Heart's Invisible Furies is narrated by Cyril Avery from in utero and then throughout his eventful life. Born to an unwed adolescent in Dublin in 1945, he is adopted by an eccentric, wealthy couple. As an only child, his family life is dysfunctional in the extreme with constant reminders by his adoptive parents that he is not their birth child. Living in homophobic Ireland during a time when cruel epithets and possible incarceration were the fate of gay people, Cyril is lonely and challenged to present a fraudulent façade. His best friend, Julian, since childhood is the singular object of his desire, although Julian is doggedly heterosexual. Unfortunately, Julian's sister is caught in Cyril's web of deceit with unforeseen results.
The book, divided in seven-year increments from 1945 to 2015, provides an unflinching look at the traumatic events of that time frame as Cyril travels from Ireland to Amsterdam to America and then back to Ireland for unexpected reunions. This is an epic saga of a man determined to find peace in a place where he belongs.
Thank you to LibraryThing and Doubleday for providing me with an ARC of this excellent book.
