John Boyne, an Irish author, wrote The Heart's Invisible Furies. This novel is about Cyril Avery. Cyril was adopted by his parents, Charles and Maude Avery the day after his birth. Charles reminds Cyril that he is not a "real" Avery because he was adopted. Cyril doesn't know what to make of this. His parents are eccentric and emotionally distant. Maude spends all her time in her bedroom writing books and smoking cigarettes. She dies when Cyril is 14 from lung cancer. After her death her books become more and more famous making Charles quite a lot of money. Cyril is born in 1940 so the book talks about the Irish culture during those times. Later Cyril lives in Amsterdam. In the 1980's he lives in New York City and volunteers with patients at a hospital on the AIDS ward. Later he moves back to Dublin. All through his life he tries to be true to himself and kind to others and to do better than he did before. Some parts of the book were very funny. In his 20's Cyril passively becomes engaged to Mary Margaret Muffet. Mary Margaret Muffet is an extremely judgmental and controlling woman who tells Cyril exactly what to do and when to do it. Cyril manages to avoid marriage to her. Other parts are sad. This is a lengthy novel about fortune and coincidence and a view of Ireland from one ordinary man's view.
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