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The Heart's Invisible Furies
- Author
- John Boyne
- Narrator
- Stephen Hogan
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Publish Date
- 9 February 2017
- Run Time
- 21 hours 21 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: coming of age
- Rating
- 5.0 (4 reviews)
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What to expect
'Compelling and satisfying... At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending' Sarah Winman, author of When God Was a Rabbit
Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?
Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.
At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.
In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit.
_____
Readers love the next book by John Boyne, A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom, out 23 July 2020
***** ‘Very unique, very well written and crafted … a journey you will never forget.’
***** ‘It’s structure is like nothing I have seen before … the rewards on reading it are immense.’
***** ‘An extraordinary book…beautifully and intelligently written, timeless and insightful.’
***** ‘This is an imaginative tour de force.’
***** ‘Ambitious and breathtakingly evocative … takes your breath away.’
***** ‘A masterpiece... I can’t praise this book enough; had me gripped from the first page. Sublime!’
Critics Review
-
Tender, dark, hilarious, heartbreaking—I loved it
Vogue
-
It’s been a long time since I read anything so compelling and satisfying. At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending
-
the most beautifully written and crafted novel ... heartbreaking
Santa Montefiore
-
By turns savvy, witty and achingly sad . . . This is a novelist at the top of his game.
The Mail on Sunday
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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I ran through the whole range of human emotions while reading this brilliant novel. It's a masterpiece.
Cathy Rentzenbrink, author of The Last Act of Love
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Screamingly funny one minute and heartbreaking the next.
Daily Express
-
A special read
BBC Radio 4 Front Row
-
Boyne creates lightness out of doom, humour out of desperately sad situations, creating a compelling page-turner… a terrific read.
The Press Association
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An epic novel…. Worthy of the great master of the Irish comic novel, Flann O’Brien. The Heart’s Invisible Furies proves that John is not just one of Ireland’s best living novelists but also one of the best novelists of Ireland.
Sunday Express
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Written with verve, humour and heart…at its core, The Heart’s Invisible Furies aspires to be not just the tale of Cyril Avery, a man buffeted by coincidence and circumstance, but the story of Ireland itself
Irish Times
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
I absolutely loved this story, it's enthralling and blends Irish history and fiction so well! But then again the Irish know how to tell a good story 😊🙏🏻🇮🇪.
Lisa Viner 2024-09-10 -
5.0 5.0
Brilliant narration of a really wonderful book, funny, heartwarming & heartbreaking.
valm 2024-05-21
Details
- Author
- John Boyne
- Narrator
- Stephen Hogan
- Duration
- 21 hours 21 minutes
- Release Date
- 9 February 2017
- ISBN
- 9781473543539
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Transworld
- Genre
- Family life fiction / Stories about family, Family saga / generational saga fiction, Historical fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: coming of age
- Rating
- 5.0(4 reviews)
- Narration
- 5.0(4 reviews)
Synopsis
'Compelling and satisfying... At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending' Sarah Winman, author of When God Was a RabbitCyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he? Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead. At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more. In this, Boyne's most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart's Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit._____Readers love the next book by John Boyne, A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom, out 23 July 2020***** ‘Very unique, very well written and crafted … a journey you will never forget.’***** ‘It’s structure is like nothing I have seen before … the rewards on reading it are immense.’***** ‘An extraordinary book…beautifully and intelligently written, timeless and insightful.’ ***** ‘This is an imaginative tour de force.’***** ‘Ambitious and breathtakingly evocative … takes your breath away.’***** ‘A masterpiece... I can’t praise this book enough; had me gripped from the first page. Sublime!’
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