Skippy Dies
A Novel
-
-
4.1 • 162 Ratings
-
-
- $12.99
Publisher Description
The bestselling and critically acclaimed novel from Paul Murray, Skippy Dies, shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Book Awards, longlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Why does Skippy, a fourteen-year-old boy at Dublin's venerable Seabrook College, end up dead on the floor of the local doughnut shop?
Could it have something to do with his friend Ruprecht Van Doren, an overweight genius who is determined to open a portal into a parallel universe using ten-dimensional string theory?
Could it involve Carl, the teenage drug dealer and borderline psychotic who is Skippy's rival in love?
Or could "the Automator"—the ruthless, smooth-talking headmaster intent on modernizing the school—have something to hide?
Why Skippy dies and what happens next is the subject of this dazzling and uproarious novel, unraveling a mystery that links the boys of Seabrook College to their parents and teachers in ways nobody could have imagined. With a cast of characters that ranges from hip-hop-loving fourteen-year-old Eoin "MC Sexecutioner" Flynn to basketball playing midget Philip Kilfether, packed with questions and answers on everything from Ritalin, to M-theory, to bungee jumping, to the hidden meaning of the poetry of Robert Frost, Skippy Dies is a heartfelt, hilarious portrait of the pain, joy, and occasional beauty of adolescence, and a tragic depiction of a world always happy to sacrifice its weakest members. As the twenty-first century enters its teenage years, this is a breathtaking novel from a young writer who will come to define his generation.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
It only takes a few pages for boarding-school student Daniel "Skippy" Juster to die on the floor of a donut shop in Paul Murray's darkly funny Skippy Dies. We’re left to sift through the events leading to the diminutive 14-year-old's death, watching as he deals with teenage issues like schoolwork, sex, family, and drugs and falls in with a group of boys that will appeal to fans of Freaks and Geeks. Murray’s sprawling tale also involves strange priests, depressed teachers, violent bullies, and the search for parallel universes, taking tragicomic turns that will resonate with anyone who’s lived through puberty.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
While there is an undeniable similarity between this long novel and another popular series featuring an adolescent protagonist who, along with his friends, gets into all kinds of mischief at a haunted boarding school, the two works couldn't be more different; this is a decidedly adult novel. The primary plot charts the brief life of 14-year-old Daniel "Skippy" Juster, a student at Seabrook Academy, an elite junior high school in Dublin. Skippy is smitten with Lori, who attends the neighboring girls' school, but has a problem: Lori's sort of boyfriend, Carl, is a sociopathic drug dealer. Another major narrative follows Skippy's history teacher, Howard "The Coward," a man equally infatuated with WWI and Miss McIntyre, a fellow teacher. With dark humor, Murray examines adolescent sexuality in an age of texting, video games, and the casual use of pharmaceuticals. Murray nails the banter of junior high, the nuance of middle-age yearning, and the excitement of string theory, and shows mastery in weaving disparate elements into a cohesive and engaging narrative. This is one of the darkest and funniest novels in recent memory.
Customer Reviews
Good read
Enjoyable read. It's a bit depressing at times, but overall it's a great coming-of-age story and and entertaining read.
Just no.
This book is insanely hard to get through. I don't understand these other reviews. The story is all over the place. I hardly know what's happening. I would give it 5 stars if you're using it as a way to fall asleep.
Excellent read
Intelligent, funny, sad and exceptionally well written, I was riveted. You can see some shades of James Joyce in the writing which is always interesting. Highly recommended.