Skippy Dies

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Critics

• SKIPPY DIES by Paul Murray

  Review by Poornima Apte (NOV 23, 2010) The Ireland that is the setting for Paul Murray’s delightful novel Skippy Dies, is not the one we have heard about recently in the news—crippled by debt and threatening to bring down the Euro. Instead, the novel ... (read full critics)

  mostlyfiction published on Wed, 24 Nov 2010

• Skippy Dies

  The coming of age story is one we tell ourselves over and over again. Even though the main characters are generally either implausibly precocious or uninterestingly naïve. Even though they tend to put everyday adjectives to the awkward task of descri ... (read full critics)

  bookslut published on Tue, 5 Oct 2010

2 Reviews

• 

  It's impossible to sum up "Skippy Dies" because it's such an enormous endeavor, both in the wide spectrum of subjects, emotions, characters it touches on and in its formidable volume. Indeed, a major reason why this novel hits you like it does- with such ferocity and on all levels- probably lies in ... (continue)

  It's impossible to sum up "Skippy Dies" because it's such an enormous endeavor, both in the wide spectrum of subjects, emotions, characters it touches on and in its formidable volume. Indeed, a major reason why this novel hits you like it does- with such ferocity and on all levels- probably lies in its broad accumulation of plot twists, deliberate collage of character development and extensive mapping of emotional journeys. In the end, you do feel like you're seeing the numerous middle school boys and girls of the Irish upper class right in front of you, as well as the teachers, priests and parents that are supposed to protect and instruct them, but who are themselves just as confused, lost and tortured in their own pursuits of happiness, accomplishment and escape. The futility and cruelty of it all come crushing down when you realize none of the characters, young and old, nice and mean, who have all become so familiar to you, can be spared facing up their choices, their past, their innermost demons. But before that, you get a roaring comedy first!

  It's a testament to the gigantic talent of Paul Murray that he could balance the heft and the fun of adolescence so wonderfully that the hilarity and absurdity imperceptibly slide into regret and despair; that stories about teenage love, school bullying, substance abuse, war history, string theory, and the meaning of life should all come together like meant to be. Just when you think he's gone too far with his net-casting and the novel is spread too thin with that many side stories, they all come back to serve in some way the narrative and spirit of the book, making it only stronger and louder.

  That the writing is also to die for doesn't hurt. Murray writes about teenage angst, grown-up fears with such a firm grip and clear vision it nails the sentiments and drives home their weight almost every time. He gives you ready access inside the minds of popular girls, nerdy boys, insecure teachers, possessed priests and of course the tragic hero Skippy. All very different characters with very complex personalities and crosses to bear and all made so relatable and endeared. It's pure magic.

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  Tony Su said on Jan 12, 2012 | Add your feedback

• 

  Compelling, though has blind spots

  Just finished this roller-coaster book today, and have to say that I DID enjoy reading it. It's energetic, full of marvellous set pieces, and shows Ireland in a different light. Includes adolescent (and adult) love, drugs, boarding school life (farts and all), quantum theory, the collapse of Catholi ... (continue)

  Just finished this roller-coaster book today, and have to say that I DID enjoy reading it. It's energetic, full of marvellous set pieces, and shows Ireland in a different light. Includes adolescent (and adult) love, drugs, boarding school life (farts and all), quantum theory, the collapse of Catholicism as an organising principle, and lots of donuts.

  It does have weaknesses though - its a tad long, and not all the plot lines (and there are many) last the course. Central characters are well-drawn, though toward the end our sympathy for their shenanigans is wearing a little thin. There are more strings left hanging at the end than are tied off, though this is maybe a metaphor for string theory, which does feature prominently in the story.

  As with all tragi-comic tales, there is always the risk that the tragi blanks out the balm of the comic (Dr Who is another example), and with this book there are some exceptionally tragic threads (Lori, Carl), which as readers make us thirst for a resolution (one way or the other), which never really arrives.

  There's some interesting stuff on transition, when key characters lose their innocence and discover what adulthood is really like, but the constant shifting between social realism and youthful fantasy is tiring after a while. Strip away the comedy (and there are some funny moments - attempting to 'transport' into the girls school next door, for example) and I suspect we'll find yet another book about sad and repressed childhoods. Did we ALL have such a terrible adolescence?

  Murray is without doubt a gifted writer, and some of the text is truly inspired. He does remind me a little of the Great Tom Robbins for his inventiveness, though Murray has a while to go before he negotiates successfully - as Robbins does - that realm between the imagined and the real, between the frenetic and the epiphany. And his books need to be shorter (and more focused) too.

  Nonetheless, I do look forward to reading Murray's next novel.

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  Ian Hodgson said on Aug 19, 2011 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
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• English Books
• Others 672 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0141009950
• ISBN-13: 9780141009957
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
• Pub date: Jun 27, 2011
• Also available as: eBook
• In other languages: other languages Libri Italiani, Nederlandse Boeken

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