The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Cast out from home, sixteen and pregnant, Catherine Goggin boards the bus to Dublin to start afresh. One there, she has no choice but to believe that the nun to whom she entrusts her child will find him a better life.

The baby is named Cyril by his adoptive parents, who treat him more like a curiosity than a son. But before this can affect him too deeply, he meets Julian Woodbead who, even from childhood, seems destined for an infinitely more glamorous and dangerous life.

And so begins one man’s funny and moving search to find his place in a world that seems to delight in gently tormenting him at every turn. Buffeted by circumstance and the consequences of his own questionable judgement, Cyril must navigate his emotions and his desires in search of that most instinctive human need… happiness.

I loved The Heart’s Invisible Furies. I loved the way it was written, Boyne’s observations sharp and humorous even when addressing the most serious of subject matter. I loved the way that the book, spanning the whole of Cyril’s life, shows how things turn out in the long run, not just in the usual short snapshot shown in a novel – the highs, extreme lows, the mellowing of characters through time, and the greater understanding of humanity that comes from experiencing and overcoming adversity.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies is centred around Cyril’s fascination and admiration for Julian Woodbead. Julian is confident, extraverted and self-assured – everything that Cyril is not. Cyril hides his secret infatuation because, for most of the book, homosexuality is a crime in Ireland. Cyril learns to be afraid and ashamed to show his true self to anyone, including himself. This causes him to make some devastating mistakes, which have terrible consequences on those around him.

To be honest, the book is full of tragedy. Cyril’s adoptive parents treat him like an item of furniture and he doesn’t know his real parents. He is shy and awkward, especially compared to the outgoing and carefree Julian. Meanwhile at school, he is surrounded by religious hypocrisy, and as he gets older he finds that not only the law but the constant casual homophobic ‘jokes’ prevent him from being himself.

But life is more complex than only the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, and there are nuances to every situation. As time goes on, Cyril learns that self-assured people like Julian look as though they have a perfect life but over a lifetime this is rarely sustainable. On the other side of the coin, bit by bit Cyril accepts his real self, helped by the gradual easing into the societal acceptance of gay relationships in Ireland and throughout the world.

For all that the subject matter of this book is serious, there were parts of this book which made me laugh out loud. Boyle has a particular talent for writing dialogue, creating humour out of the mundanity of conversation. When I wasn’t laughing, I was marvelling at Boyle’s ability to understand the workings of his different characters’ minds and the eloquence with which their thoughts are expressed.

Ultimately this is a story about love. Romantic love. Platonic love. Parental love (or lack of). Forbidden love. The Heart’s Invisible Furies mixes all of these kinds of love together to show how feelings can change over time and how, with a little more life experience, hate and prejudice can be conquered by compassion and love.