Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

11 reviews

alyssaakdefusco's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An unflinching look at what it meant to be gay in mid century Ireland, but not without plenty of hope and love. There were plenty of brutal moments, but there was a surprising amount of humor throughout. The through-line of a separated family weaved in with the theme of found family was really beautiful. A tad too long but it was worth the read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Outing

Moderate: Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

breaklikeafish's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book has made me feel so many emotions that it took me a while to collect my thoughts and write a review. I'm absolutely blown away by John Boyne's writing style. Somehow, the story is one of the funniest pieces of writing I've read recently and simultaneously absolutely heartbreaking.

We, the reader, follow the protagonist Cyril Avery through his entire life in several parts separated by seven-year time skips. I loved that structure and think it was very well executed. The way everything that happens in Cyril's life seems interconnected, and some people remain constant during all stages, while unrealistic, made for a very engaging read. I honestly would not have thought I'd rate this book a solid five stars after the first half because some characters' atrocious actions seemed to be explained away with too little discussion for my liking. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the latter chapters addressed every issue and tied up Cyril's life story so well that I wouldn't change anything about it.

This also made for very realistic character development for Cyril and the other characters. Cyril's internal monologue changes and grows with him. Still, he maintains a very distinctive style. He describes his life's story with so much wit and humor that I laughed out loud several times. Literally.

Some plot points and most of the dialogue seem entirely unrealistic. However, I found that I had a better experience with the novel overall after I accepted that Cyril might not be the most reliable narrator and the events were simply told through his eyes. For example, both Cyril and Julian's obsession with sex from an extremely young age seemed extremely disturbing and not at all funny to me, but given the trajectory of Cyril's life and the role his own sexuality colored almost every aspect of the first few decades of his life, it kind of makes sense that he would fixate on and exaggerate these parts of his early life.

My favorite part, as much as I loved Cyril's journey, remained the first one. I thought having Cyril narrate his mother's story despite not being born at the time was a very interesting narrative choice. I would totally read an entire novel told in that way.

In conclusion, this one goes firmly on my list of recommendations! It touched some very deep emotions in me and managed to make me laugh on the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing

joelafond's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wow. Just wow. I devoured this book. I was engrossed by every single page. Masterful storytelling. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and deeply human. Can’t say enough good things about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, and Homophobia

savheath's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

caties_books's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Phenomenal! I never knew 900 pages could go so fast 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

books_withblooms's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment

caoimhekilleen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

saestrah's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Having this book on my TBR list for long enough that I forgot what the book was about, I almost stopped reading this after the end of the first part. To avoid spoilers, it wasn't subject matter I was particularly in the mood to read and it was just before going to bed. But I loved the narration from the first page so I picked it up again over breakfast and couldn't put it down. After staying up until four in the morning to finish it, and writing this after five hours of sleep, I still don't regret my decision.

The Heart's Invisible Furies is incredibly moving, with each chapter narrating Cycil's life in seven year increments. Despite the hardship of his life, from growing up gay in Ireland in the 40s to the AIDs pandemic in the 80s, Cycil's narration is incredibly funny. Often blinded by his own emotions, it's easy to get swept up in his struggles through relationships and identity, that when revelations come to life I was as shocked as he was. The plot had predictable moments with threads of coincidences too good to be true weaving throughout the story, but it's something that doesn't deminish how much I loved this book.

If you can give yourself enough time to read this book in one sitting, I fully recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

brynngaybee's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I read this on the recommendation of my manager who said it was her favorite book and I had to read it, while I am not quite sure it lived up to the hype I certainly enjoyed it a lot! I didn't care that much about the childhood parts but they were mostly funny enough. I liked a lot of the adult stuff more, although the characters drove me crazy sometimes. It was very sad but some other parts of the book were funny. My manager said it was similar to A Little Life which I have not read yet, but still may be a good option for fans of that book. There is a lot of coincidences and quite a bit of death and wild events going on. I am here for the drama, but it may not be for everyone. The way all the characters were interconnected was interesting to me, but it did not seem very realistic, depends on what you care about in a story I suppose. Overall, very well written and emotional. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Dementia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

theelliad's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Police brutality, Dementia, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy