The story is told in different times of Cyril's life, from birth until old age. It is all very bittersweet and there are some really funny moments. I really enjoyed Cyril. I thought he was funny and sweet and as an adult he had some hard times. Friends dying or being killed. Halfway through, the story went off the boil; the characters began to lose their lustre as Boyne substituted tragedy and humour with tragedy and pathos. For me, the book mislaid its mojo from here on in. Admittedly, Boyne's sensitive handling of the AIDS epidemic was nobly done; there are scenes here that would bring a statue to tears, but the author clearly felt that it would be insensitive of him to continue with the humour (which would be fine if the book was serious from the get-go, but it wasn't). He had no such qualms about injecting a vein load of humour when a vulnerable teenager was ostracised by an entire community and left to fend for herself in the most trying of circumstances. Didn't grow up in India, but has spent time in the region as a reporter, researcher and radio presenter

Parker uncovers a case involving stolen priceless coins. One, specifically, has a fascinating history. If you believe in the legends, it predates mankind and was minted by a demon. A mysterious coin collector named Kepler claims it rightfully belongs to him, and he has no qualms about killing anybody to retrieve it. The last known person to possess it? Buker. The Sisters Strange, Parker fears, may be in way over their heads with this. Or are they? of you with daughters or sisters, upsettingly). Catherine Goggin is sixteen. She’s pregnant (but not Nonetheless, Pakistan itself clearly seems to have been a half-baked idea concocted callously by Jinnah, and perhaps even supported by the British as a means to handicap a newly-independent India. The end of the British Empire in India is a truly remarkable historical moment. When the hour hand reached twelve on August 15, 1947, two-hundred years of British rule ended, and two new countries – India and Pakistan – came into being. Shortly before this birth, India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, stood before parliament and famously spoke of a “tryst with destiny,” an awakening “to life and freedom.” It all seemed so hopeful: the peaceful overthrow of a longstanding colonial power. I was hesitant going into this book, mainly because of its length. But it has just become one of my favourite books of all time! This is an incredibly easy 5 stars to give.

The main character is likable, but it is not perfect which is another aspect that I appreciated. He made some stupid mistakes and he did not realize the impact his actions had for other people and he did not gave the impression he cared enough. I also thought the other characters were well portrayed, interesting, although some of the traits were exaggerated for dramatic/comic purposes. John Connolly’s latest supernatural thriller, “The Furies”, is actually two novels for the price of one. Both feature Connolly’s private detective Charlie Parker, a man haunted by demons, both figurative and literal. Strangely enough, things are going well for Parker, who has found some semblance of a life in Maine. He has a favorite watering hole, friends, and even the occasional client, but he is extremely discriminating about the types of cases he signs on to anymore. Novelists often write about writing and Boyne has a bit of fun with the subject. Maude Avery, Cyril’s adoptive mother holds a dim view of her profession. “Do you enjoy being a writer, Mrs Avery?” asked Julian.

Fates and Furies': Lauren Groff's love story has a furious subtext". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 26 September 2015.

Children’s book of the week

The Hearts Invisible Furies follows the life of Cyril Avery. At a young age Cyril struggled to grasp an identity, feeling lost and unsure. Over his life he tries to come to terms with who he is and the reality of his home country. Both stories are so good and I didn’t want to them to end. This book is old school Connolly I did like the Nameless Ones but this is straight forward Parker, Maine, and unsavory scary bad guys. I loved this book So fans have to wait another year for more of this series. I hope not! Wood, James (2 November 2015). "Scenes from a Marriage". The New Yorker . Retrieved 24 November 2015.

So many eternal decisions were taken under high emotional stress, without a careful glimpse into the future and without consideration of overt repurcussions. And for what? To maintain oneself in a position of power. Normal populace was martyred in this tug of war of power between politicians, tearing a country asunder. So it's my last review of 2017, and my year in books has ended pretty much as it began with an excellent 5 star read. John Boyne is a truly gifted writer and 'The Heart's Invisible Furies' is simply mesmerising. Covers events in Punjab, Kashmir and Bengal; afterwards India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka The upside of course, is that narrative history is often far more readable, and the book performs on this front spectacularly. It reads like an action novel, and I could not put it down.

National Book Award Finalists Are Announced". The Wall Street Journal. 14 October 2015 . Retrieved 24 November 2015.

We begin in 1945, with the pregnancy of sixteen-year-old Catherine Goggin, and her being publicly cast out of her community by the laughably hypocritical parish priest. (See the quote at the top of this review, which is also the opening of the book) I really loved this book. As difficult of a topic as it is, it was written so well that it was incredibly engaging, easy to follow and highly informative. There were times that my eyes widened and my mouth fell open as I heard what happened. Pandemonium is the first word which comes to mind when one revisits the blood soaked days of the vivisection of India on sectarian lines in the ides of August,1947. The questions posed by partition echo to this day in the power corridors of India and Pakistan as well as the forlorn hearts of the survivors. Why exactly did partition become the only way out of the power struggle between Indian National Congress and Muslim League in the 1940s ? Why did the birth of the new nations had to be a Caesarean surgery that involved bloodshed of a million hearts ? Who are the heroes and villains of The Great Partition Drama ? Is it even possible to fix responsibility in this complex maze of intrigues and Machiavellian plots ? Like Gone Girl, Fates and Furies is about a marriage in which each partner has a radically disparate view, not just of their union, but of the type of narrative constituted by their lives. It’s as if husband and wife each inhabit a different novel, in a different genre – one sunnily domestic, the other gothic. And in fact, they almost did: Groff has said that she originally wanted to publish Fates and Furies as two separate books. Charlie gets involved in two separate issues here, ones he needs help with from his pals Louis, the big guy who's maybe done a lot bad stuff but is square and loyal to Charlie, and Angel, Louis' life partner, who was supposedly dying of cancer but now is in remission. The Fulci brothers are also present and anyone who reads this series KNOWS who they are.I preferred The Sisters Strange, but I enjoyed the entire book. The humor, combined with the excellent creation of atmosphere, is what keeps me reading these supernatural thrillers. The author also has a much broader vocabulary than most thriller writers. Parker’s colleagues Angel and Louis make only a few brief appearances in this book, but I was ok with that. Jeff Harding did an excellent job narrating the audiobook. 4.5 stars