85 pages 2 hours read

John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2017

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Part 1, Books 3-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 1: “Shame”, Part 1, Book 3: “1959: The Seal of the Confessional” - Part 1, Book 5: “1973: Keeping the Devil at Bay”

Part 1, Book 3, Chapter 1 Summary: “A New Roommate”

Cyril is 14, attending Belvedere College, and living away from home. After his first roommate is removed from school when his father speaks out against the Church, Cyril finds out that Julian will be his roommate. He also learns that Max is now a millionaire and bought Cyril’s old house after Charles went to jail, in an act of revenge against both Charles and Max’s wife.

Cyril is nervous to see Julian again, but Julian only vaguely recognizes Cyril by his name and the house they have both lived in. Julian tells Cyril about his experience being molested by a priest at his previous school, and Cyril notes that the priests at this school watch the boys shower. Julian can tell how innocent Cyril is, but continues discussing sex, talking about how he cannot wait to have it and hopes to die having it. Julian suddenly remembers Cyril, but thinks that Cyril is the one who asked Julian to expose himself when they were seven. It is revealed that Maude died of cancer shortly after Charles’s arrest, that her books soared in popularity after her death, and that Charles is now out of prison and working for the Bank again.

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