"Long before we discovered that he had fathered two children by two different women, one in Drimoleague and one in Clonakilty, Father James Monroe stood on the altar of the Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, in the parish of Goleen, West Cork, and denounced my mother as a whore." Praise for The Heart's Invisible Furies : "Erstwhile Scotiabank Giller Prize juror John Boyne presents one of his most ambitious novels yet, a story that traces Ireland's turbulent history from the 1940s to the present as seen through the eyes of one man." -- Quill and Quire "Boyne, who has a wonderful gift for characterization, does a splendid job of weaving these various lives together in ways that are richly dramatic, sometimes surprising and always compelling. . . . Often quite funny, the story nevertheless has its sadness, sometimes approaching tragedy. Utterly captivating and not to be missed." -- Booklist , starred review "With quick strokes and bitter humor, Boyne's opening scene encapsulates the Irish church's hypocrisy. . . . Boyne continues his crusading ways with the quiet keening of this painful, affecting novel." -- Kirkus , starred review "Cyril's life story is extraordinary, tragic and triumphant. . . . Boyne dedicates his wise, beautiful 15th novel to John Irving. This tribute fits a story calling to mind the humane sagas of T.S. Garp, Owen Meaney and the humble tale of Piggy Sneed. Readers will fall in love with Boyne's characters, especially Mrs. Goggin and Cyril's adoptive mother, Maude Avery, in this heartbreaking and hilarious story." -- Library Journal "With evocative descriptions of each city and fateful plot turns that twist the narrative in surprising ways, Boyne adroitly captures Cyril's shifting identity as he grapples with nationality, class and sexuality. The book becomes both an examination of Cyril's life and a catalogue of Western society's evolution from post-war to present day, with all its failings, triumphs, complexities and certainties." -- Publishers Weekly "Bleak, bittersweet and Irish to the bone . . . explore[s] the relationship between Catholicism and patriarchy in midcentury Ireland and beyond." -- O, The Oprah Magazine "Boyne writes scenes that will make a reader laugh and cry--without saccharine sentiment or flippancy. Infused with heart and humour, as well as a keen sense of man's capacity for cruelty,  The Heart's Invisible Furies  pulsates with life's complexity and progress's slow march." -- Paste Magazine "Boyne's fictional portrait of postwar Ireland and its people is nightmarish but utterly compelling. . . . The appalling comedy of Cyril's childhood and youth, the vigour, the mess, the stir and life and horror of it all form the heart of a substantial achievement." -- The Guardian "An epic full of verve, humour and heart . . . sure to be read by the bucketload . . . deeply cinematic [and] extremely funny." -- The Irish Times Excerpted from The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.