Members all thoroughly enjoyed this hugely engaging book. The opening memorable paragraph sets the scene: "Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Golden, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore."
We are in Ireland, it's 1945 and the Church has the whip hand over people's lives, including that of the main character, Cyril Avery's mother, Catherine Goggin, who must flee to Dublin with her illegitimate unborn child. When born, under distressingly violent circumstances, Cyril is adopted out to unloving parents who insist he is "not an Avery". Added to this lack of familial affection and support, Cyril knows from an early age that he is different, gay in a conservative society where such a lifestyle is not only illegal but believed will send you to hell.
Each section of the novel moves forward seven years in Cyril's life as he battles to find out who he is and how he can find his place in the world. While all that sounds a bit grim, the novel is sprinkled with hilarious incidents, marvellous characters and sparkling dialogue that left members thoroughly entertained.
At the same time, Cyril's heartrending history is so unsentimentally and matter-a-factly well written as to be quite believable. The story is satisfying in that by its conclusion all loose ends are tied up - not all that common in novels these days. This is a story of Ireland over the past 70 years, but the issues raised of ignorance, bigotry and persecution, and society's torturously slow evolution into tolerance and greater acceptance are common across the western world.
Who is John Boyne?
John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of 10 books for adults, five for young readers and a collection of short stories. He is probably best known for his 2006 book, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This international best seller was made into a film, a play a ballet and an opera. It sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.
John has won three Irish Book Awards. He has also won a host of international literary awards, including a Stonewall Honor Award and a Lambda Literary Award in the United States.
The Heart's Invisible Furies (the title is taken from a quote by German-American philosopher and political theorist, Hannah Arendt) won the 2018 Glass Bell Award for standout storytelling. It was a finalist for the 2018 Lambda Literary Awards and for the 2018 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction.
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In the same way, we hope you will take away from our reviews some pearlers to share with your regular club.
