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A review by pikusonali
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
4.0
Sometimes I think I have no idea what love is. Whether it is something fundamentally essential to our existence or just a dispensable part of our lives? Are all the decisions we take in life, at least in part, rooted in love? Romantic love, platonic love, parental love, even a love you cannot explain – one emotion with so many shades and characters attached to it.
In many ways, The Heart's Invisible Furies reminds me of Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life but the former proves to be way less depressing and builds up to a happy ending. It is more of a social commentary on Ireland and its homophobic nature that persisted well into the late 2000s. We are introduced to Cyril Avery, a closeted homosexual, confused about his identity, scared to come out as he yearns for his best friend Julian – a straight and promiscuous chap.
There is lot of drama in the book, a few twists that will keep you hooked and writing that is not only compelling but entertaining to the core. While A Little Life's Jude is a tortured soul in love with his best friend Willem, forever depressed because of his brutal and shocking past despite getting immense love in return from Willem; Cyril is a more balanced soul, who eventually accepts Julian's disinterest in him and continues loving his best friend in a different capacity. Cyril does find love with someone else and like all characters in the book learns to move on.
At the end of the day what matters is learning how to forgive and forget, how to accept your mistakes and bravely accept the punishment for them. At the end of the day if you a bunch of people, who believe in you, there's nothing more to want. For families are made by emotions, not blood. For just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean that they don't love you with all that they have.
In many ways, The Heart's Invisible Furies reminds me of Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life but the former proves to be way less depressing and builds up to a happy ending. It is more of a social commentary on Ireland and its homophobic nature that persisted well into the late 2000s. We are introduced to Cyril Avery, a closeted homosexual, confused about his identity, scared to come out as he yearns for his best friend Julian – a straight and promiscuous chap.
There is lot of drama in the book, a few twists that will keep you hooked and writing that is not only compelling but entertaining to the core. While A Little Life's Jude is a tortured soul in love with his best friend Willem, forever depressed because of his brutal and shocking past despite getting immense love in return from Willem; Cyril is a more balanced soul, who eventually accepts Julian's disinterest in him and continues loving his best friend in a different capacity. Cyril does find love with someone else and like all characters in the book learns to move on.
At the end of the day what matters is learning how to forgive and forget, how to accept your mistakes and bravely accept the punishment for them. At the end of the day if you a bunch of people, who believe in you, there's nothing more to want. For families are made by emotions, not blood. For just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean that they don't love you with all that they have.