> Skip to content
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 2 January 2018
  • ISBN: 9781784161002
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 736
  • RRP: $26.00

The Heart's Invisible Furies




Truly the best of John Boyne - hilarious, touching and deeply sad The Heart's Invisible Furies is the breakout book Boyne was born to write.

'A bold, funny epic' Observer
'Compelling and satisfying . . . At times, incredibly funny, at others, heartrending' Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
___

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery. At least, that's what his parents make sure to remind him. Adopted as a baby, he feels more and more disconnected with the family that treats him more as a curious pet, rather than a beloved son.

So, as a young adult, Cyril decides to embark on a quest to find his place in the world. Sometimes misguided and often in the wrong place at the wrong time, life has dealt him a difficult hand but Cyril is resolute that he can change things, and find the courage to be himself.

And in doing so, his story will come across that of Catherine Goggin, a young, pregnant woman finding herself alone and isolated at only sixteen. There is a place in the world for both of them, and Cyril is determined to find it.

The new novel by John Boyne, WATER, is available for pre-order now.
___

What readers are saying:

'The story of the life of one man, told against the backdrop of twentieth century Ireland' 'Simultaneously heart-breaking, funny and life-affirming.'
'Fantastic eccentric characters and dark humour is underpinned by a touching love story, perfect.'
'The saddest and happiest book I have read . . . told with great compassion and ultimately a great love of life.'

  • Published: 2 January 2018
  • ISBN: 9781784161002
  • Imprint: Black Swan
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 736
  • RRP: $26.00

About the author

John Boyne

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, six for younger readers and a collection of short stories. Perhaps best known for his 2006 multi-award-winning book The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, John’s other novels, notably The Absolutist and A History of Loneliness, have been widely praised and are international bestsellers. Most recently, The Heart's Invisible Furies was a Richard & Judy Bookclub word-of-mouth bestseller, and A Ladder to the Sky was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in association with Listowel Writers’ Week.

His novels are published in over fifty languages.

Also by John Boyne

See all

Praise for The Heart's Invisible Furies

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

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

Screamingly funny one minute and heartbreaking the next.

Daily Express

A special read

BBC Radio 4 Front Row

By turns savvy, witty and achingly sad . . . This is a novelist at the top of his game.

The Mail on Sunday

John Boyne is best known for his children’s novel The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. His new novel shows he can write movingly for adults as well… the cast is enormous yet at no point do we lose interest in Cyril.

The Sunday Times

Boyne creates lightness out of doom, humour out of desperately sad situations, creating a compelling page-turner… a terrific read.

The Press Association

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

Compulsively readable…hard to put down

Irish Independent

The Heart’s Invisible Furies, by John Boyne, is like an Irish World According to Garp, by which I mean tender, dark, hilarious, heartbreaking—I loved it'

Vogue

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

Sarah Winman, author of When God Was a Rabbit

It is laugh-out-loud funny, tragic, laceratingly sharp, and full of complex and brilliantly evoked characters...page-turning, hilarious, heart-rending and hopeful. Go read it.

Times Literary Supplement

Dickensian sweep, characterisation and humour

Daily Mail

For character, plot and psychological depth, Boyne’s novel is unsurpassed this year

Sunday Express

the most beautifully written and crafted novel ... heartbreaking

Santa Montefiore