Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Heart's Invisible Furies

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

32 reviews

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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emlibe's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad 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? No

4.75

Content Warnings

katiejohns's review

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emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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breaklikeafish's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

smalljules's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

WOW. This book was one of my top favorites of the year. It is beautiful, emotional, heart wrenching, heart warming, and will make you FEEL. An incredible story that follows the life of one Irish man, yet still immersed you in the lives of many others. I fell in love with this book almost immediately and immensely, so much that I didn’t want to finish it. I will recommend it to fellow book lovers.
If you are able make it past the content warnings, I believe this book will move your heart and soul.

Content Warnings