The Heart's Invisible Furies

Adopted. The protagonist of John Boyne’s novel titled, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, is Cecil Avery, but as his adopted father always says, he’s not a real Avery. He is an Irish everyman for the sweeping period of the last sixty or seventy years. While there are some gimmicks and schmaltz over the almost six hundred pages of the novel, mostly in the form of chance encounters, the issues that Boyne presents about identity, friendship and family are dealt with through finely written prose. Boyne tells an absorbing story with great skill, using repartee in dialogue and humor that sits alongside tragedy as it does in every life. Every character is drawn with the depth of complexity that is true to life, although the women tend to be far more candid and honest than the men. Whether any part of your identity aligns with Cecil and the other characters, there is depth in this book about human nature and the power of love and redemption. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase The Heart’s Invisible Furies from amazon.com.