The Heart's Invisible Furies

The Heart’s Invisible Furies

• Genre: Fiction; historical
• Originally Published: 2017
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: Approx. 592 pages; approx. 21 hours on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Born in Ireland in the 1940s to an unmarried teenaged mother, Cyril Avery struggles over the course of his life to find his identity and place in the world.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Prejudice; intolerance; struggles with identity and sexuality; suicidal ideation; hate crimes; violence and death, including murder by family members; sexual content; brief mention of rape and incest in backstory details

John Boyne, Author

• Bio: Born in Dublin, Ireland; studied at Trinity College and University of East Anglia; awarded Hennessy Literary Hall of Fame Award (2012) for body of work; represented for over 15 years on the New York Times Top 10 Bestsellers Chart for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
• Other Works: The Thief of Time (2000); The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006); A History of Loneliness (2014)
• Awards: Shortlisted for Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year; winner of the Glass Bell Award (UK)—Best Novel (2017); longlisted for the Dublin International Literary Award

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Guide:

• Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred
• The Strength of Women Against Misogyny
• The Interconnected Web of Human Life
• Loneliness as Part of the Human Condition

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Guide, students will:

• Develop an understanding of Irish culture and sociopolitical change through the 20th century and how these changes connect to Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred as well as The Strength of Women Against Misogyny.
• Build connections between the novel’s themes of Bearing Witness to Prejudice, Intolerance, and Hatred, Loneliness as Part of the Human Condition, The Interconnected Web of Human Life, and The Strength of Women Against Misogyny and various paired texts and other resources.
• Construct a fictional photojournalism article based on scholarly research and analysis of the time period represented in The Heart’s Invisible Furies.
• Analyze and evaluate key plot points, themes, and character traits to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding 20^th-century culture and history, the author’s use of humor, and other topics.