Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

18 reviews

hannah_mck's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

kelkelkelkelly's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This book moved me to tears and out loud laughter, sometimes within one paragraph. It’s beautifully written with wry observational humour. Cyril is a flawed yet deeply lovable narrator, and the supporting cast of characters are vivid, complex, and engaging. The novel follows Cyril’s life as it intersects with some of the most important historical events of the last century in Irish and global events. From grief to lust to shame to love, this book paints a beautiful portrait of a life lived.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia

Includes a vivid depiction of neglect of an adopted child, harm caused by the Catholic Church

fromthekiwigirl35's review

This had so much happen within those 55 pages. Too violent, too much intense situations. Graphic. Not an enjoyable read.
Couldn't find the joy in reading such content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Incest, Misogyny, Violence, Rape, Racial slurs, Death, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

savheath's review

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

ludwijag's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Murder

Moderate: Abandonment, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

bookaholic_kp's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Homophobia

caties_books's review

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

ebba94's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

lovelymisanthrope's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I picked this book up as a buddy read with a friend.
"The Heart's Invisible Furies" follows Cyril throughout his life. He was adopted by a wealthy family when he was a baby, but his adoptive father made it very clear that Cyril is not a real Avery. Being adopted at such a young age, being held at an arm's length by his adoptive parents, and going through adolescence just trying to uncover who he is all together made Cyril really struggle with his identity. This book is an exploration of self and what it means to be home.
This book was heartbreaking, devastating, and provided amazing content for discussion. Cyril had a challenging life of never really fitting in, and to top it all off, he discovers he is gay. Being gay in Ireland in the 1940s was not acceptable and being openly gay invited unwanted violence. Cyril tried to repress who he was for so long because he knew how dangerous it was, which is so devastating, but provides important historical context for gay history. This was a very real fear for many individuals until more recently, but even in today's world, there are places where it is not safe to be openly gay. Though this is a huge part of Cyril's identity, I really enjoyed that this was not the only element of identity explored in the novel.
Cyril is not the perfect character, he makes mistakes and hurts people throughout his life, but he does have a good heart and he tries to make the best decisions he can. He is almost painfully average, which makes him so relatable.
This book is ambitious with trying to cover a character's entire life, but I think it is executed beautifully. It did take me a little while to get into the story and really enjoy Cyril as a character. But, once I was invested in Cyril, I did not want to put this book down.
This book does explore some very heavy topics, so I do not recommend it for everyone, but it is a stunning novel and if you feel compelled, I do encourage you to read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Grief, Blood, Misogyny, Infidelity, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Death, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

caitiebutler's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Grief, Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Minor: Kidnapping