The Heart's Invisible Furies

The Heart's Invisible Furies is a social novel by Irish novelist John Boyne and published by Doubleday in 2017.

The story revolves around the life of Cyril, who struggles with his sexuality, but it takes on a broad range of prejudice and intolerance in the Ireland of the past seventy years.

[1][2][3] In 1945, sixteen-year-old Catherine Goggin is hauled up in front of her congregation and publicly shamed and humiliated by the local priest for being pregnant and unmarried.

Catherine gives birth to her son on the floor next to Sean's bloodied body with an inconsolable Jack kneeling by his corpse.

At this time, Charles is being prosecuted for tax evasion with Max regularly visiting and Cyril constantly hoping he will bring Julian.

After they sneak out of school to go to a pub with some girls, Julian is abducted by the IRA as a result of his father's extremely publicised pro-British views.

After finishing school, Cyril works at the department of education and makes great efforts to maintain his friendship with Julian who is often away travelling with a different assortment of girlfriends.

Cyril winds up in Amsterdam and finds happiness after he starts dating a Dutch doctor, Bastiaan, who he meets at an Irish pub ran by Jack Smoot.

After a few months, Ignac's father comes to the pub force him to return to work for him, causing a fist-fight before he is killed by Jack.

On his way out, Cyril sees an old woman crying in the hospital chapel and recognises her as Catherine Goggin who he has met on several occasions over the years.

In 2015, Cyril, now in his early seventies, prepares for a wedding in now Liam's house on Dartmouth Square filled with his sizeable family.

Cyril walks his mother down the aisle surrounded by their collective families and finally feels a sense of peace and happiness.