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