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Skippy Dies  By  cover art

Skippy Dies

By: Paul Murray
Narrated by: Nicola Barber, Fred Berman, Clodagh Bowyer, Terry Donnelly, Sean Gormley, Khristine Hvam, John Keating, Lawrence Lowry, Graeme Malcolm, Paul Nugent
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Publisher's summary

This touching and uproarious novel by author Paul Murray made everyone’s best fiction of 2010 lists, including The Washington Post, Financial Times, Village Voice, and others. Why Skippy dies and what happens next is the mystery that links the boys of Dublin’s Seabrook College (Ruprecht Van Doren, the overweight genius obsessed with string theory; Carl, the teenager drug dealer and borderline psychotic; Philip Kilfether, the basketball-playing midget) to their parents and teachers in ways that no one could have imagined.

This unique production of Murray’s heartfelt exploration of the pain, joy, and beauty of adolescence features an all-star narrating cast of 16 Audible favorites: John Keating, Graeme Malcom, Khristine Hvam, Nicola Barber, Fred Berman, Clodagh Bowyer, Terry Donnelly, Sean Gormley, Lawrence Lowry, Paul Nugent, Tim Smallwood, Fiona Walsh, Fiana Toibin, Declan Sammon, Heather O'Neill, and Ed Malone.

©2010 Paul Murray (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hilarious, haunting, and heartbreaking, it is inarguably among the most memorable novels of the year to date." ( Booklist)
"Dazzling... If killing your protagonist with more than 600 pages to go sounds audacious, it's nothing compared with the literary feats Murray pulls off in this hilarious, moving and wise book." ( Washington Post Book World)
"Extravagantly entertaining." ( The New York Times Book Review)

What listeners say about Skippy Dies

Average customer ratings
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  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

It Sneaks Up on You...

I admit, I was one listener who almost gave up at the beginning. The drug dealing scenes were so unpleasant to me - a high school teacher living in denial about how teens really live and think ;-) - that I was wondering what could come up that would make it worth my time to continue.

But once we were really introduced to Skippy and his pals, I had my answer: the characterizations. I don't mean the narrations - which were fine though not remarkable in my mind - but the characters the author developed, both kids and adults. Murray's subtlety, his way of dropping crumbs of detail along with the big chunks of action and dialog, is what builds the bonds between reader and character, to the point that we even care about the ones we are repulsed by. The story itself was good, but in the end it was just a vehicle for introducing us to a world of people and perspectives that I, for one, would never otherwise experience.


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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining, great listen

Funny and quirky, this story engages from the very beginnig.

The cast of narrators all were excellent.

The author did a great job capturing the pathos of adolescence as well as the older characters.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Different Sense of Humor

Those who have rated this book high and listed it as uproariously funny, have different tastes than I. I waded through part 1, waiting and hoping the funny would start. It didn't. The plot takes place at a boy's school in the UK. Ah, a few lines made me smile in the beginning, but as the book moved on, I simply found myself disgusted with having to hear each boy's wet dreams.

Bottom line: listen to a bit before buying. The first scene appears to be the best there is to offer so expect a down hill ride.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected, regretfully.

I am pretty consistent with checking reviews and narration ahead of purchase and this purchase was not different. I just finished the recording, even though I purchased it some time ago, mostly because I don't like to leave a book unfinished, even the ones I don't like. This was an interesting story, great cast of narrators especially, but I couldn't stay with it. A group of boys in an Irish boarding school, supposedly friends, intertwined with their teachers and Catholic priests. After finally finishing the book, I still don't really know the main point of the story. It jumped around quite often, the author used inappropriate language in many places, not that often a story is enhanced by language, this just didn't seem to fit. Many sexual references, innuendo; I know that is often the mind of teenage boys, however, it just didn't seem to fit into the story. I use the term inappropriate, because the swear words or sexual terms didn't seem to fit, not inappropriate in the sense that I oppose the use of such language. Even the drug use, which was a major theme, didn't seem to fit well into the story and was a bit confusing.

There are 3 parts to this story, the last one seemed to be the easiest listen, but still not that interesting. I didn't feel like some of the main characters dilemmas were resolved, even at the end of the book. The only reason that I did finish the story was because I can't leave a book only partially read, so I muddled through. It did have some interesting parts, but regretfully, not enough to make me like the book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Way too drawn out

Hard to believe this book has received such fabulous reviews. He needed a good editor,
too many story lines, too many digressions. I finished it, but with great relief ! Usually I don't like finishing a book, b/c I want the story to continue. Not this one !

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

full of twists

This made me think of Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult in some ways. There is the looping around, a spiral inward to details. Obviously, from the book cover, we know that Skippy dies but we swirl around information leading up to the death, uncovering and covering up the details that bear on it and then moving onward to dealing with the emotions of people in Skippy's world - a boarding school not much like Hogwarts.

One can easily hate some of the character. The lack of morality slimes many pages. The abuse of children and the low regard for children among so called educators leaves a bad taste. Deeply flawed people who lay blame among the weak instead of the guilty leave a sense of frustration but then such is life.

The performers are wonderful. The voices add color to the story.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

I am not the indented audience for this good book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have preferred not to delved into the lives of 14 year old boys with such detail. As a mother of soon to be 14 year old's I found it WAY to much info and not a mystery at all which is what I actually thought the book was. It is beautifully written but I am not the intended audience.

Would you be willing to try another book from Paul Murray? Why or why not?

Nope, while his story was worth reading it's not the right genre for me and I have no idea how I ended up purchasing this book (again a really well written story) but totally not my genre.

Which scene was your favorite?

I thought the end of the book was great and well thought out but the entire book is well thought out.

Do you think Skippy Dies needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

nope, I think they cover it all. some of the character could be books in and of themselves like Ruprect who I found interesting but not a sequel more of another stand alone book like Enders Shadow.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sceptical at first, in the end I loved it.

This book is a slow start. At first it seems to be all about adolescent angst and boring, incompetent adults. Don't give up. It takes a while for the story line and characters to develop, but once it does the book is compelling, funny, thought provoking and entertaining. Murray deals brilliantly with the theme of obstacles to meaningful human communication. Again and again his characters fail to understand one another, trapped by their separate perceptions of the world and false assumptions about others.But they keep trying and the moments when they do connect are wonderful. It is also a book about the role of friendship, the value of history vs. the march to the future, and the important part stories play in bridging the gaps between human beings. And, oh yes, the nature and origin of the universe. As other reviewers have noted, the audio version is particularly wonderful, an excellent full-cast performance. It is well worth listening to the end.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dark but humorous.

Would you listen to Skippy Dies again? Why?

No. I wouldn't listen again only because there are some many other books I want to listen to.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book!

Would you listen to Skippy Dies again? Why?

A well written book full of coming of age angst, and science fiction. I will gladly listen to this book again because the language was very poetic and engaging. The characters were well developed and the plot unravels in such a beautiful tragedy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Skippy Dies?

The characters left behind after Skippy dies as they try to reconstruct their lives are most memorable.
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