The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

⦾ FAVOURITE READ OF THE YEAR ⦾

Book : The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne 

Pages : 582 

Genre : Literary/ Historical fiction

My Rating : 10/10  

'Why do they hate us so much anyway?' I asked after a lengthy pause.' If they're not queer themselves, then what does it matter to them if someone else is ?'

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne is a heart wrenching tale of a boy born to an unwed mother in 1940's post WW2 Ireland, which was ruled by zealous Priests. It chronicles the journey of Cyril who was given up by his mother and raised by an unconventional couple The Averys. They raised Cyril but reminded him constantly that he isn't a *real* Avery.

Cyril explores his identity and sexuality in a country where being queer or gay is a crime.( It's still a crime in many country by law. My heart bled for Cyril so many times that I just couldn't stop myself from reading this book and figuring out Cyril's journey which takes us from Ireland to Amsterdam and New York.

 The story is about love, loss, strangers becoming family and family becoming your cause of doom ( some other word) Boyne has written a witty, gripping, politically charged book with a good amount of humor, emotions which makes you laugh, cry, gasp and maybe realize -

"The desire to fall in love and to share one's life with someone is neither a homosexual nor a heterosexual conceit. It's human. We're all suckers for a pretty face or a kind heart."

The character development of each and every characters in this book is prefect. The themes of Bigotry and Fascism is presented in a hard hitting way and is bound to evoke a strong response. The ingenious way through which Boyne has included important historical events around the and layered them into the plot makes this a pretty convincing tale. 

A small fact - I stumbled upon this book during a sale and had no idea about the story or genre. But it's now my best impulse buy ever !! 

P.S. Don't feel intimated by the number of pages. It's a page turner and you'll definitely enjoy it.