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

Length: 23 hrs and 36 mins

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)

Unusual twist on adolescent life

So much gratuitous sex talk was more than off-putting but plot was ingenious, string theory? I would have liked to hear Hadley’s post breakup thoughts, Lorelei’s were pretty watery.

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.

A twisted comedy

If you could sum up Skippy Dies in three words, what would they be?

Really dark comedy

What did you like best about this story?

The narrator(s) were FANTASTIC! They really made the story come to life.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Getting to hear all the different voices narrating the different characters really brought the story to life. If I were to just read the story, I would have never used any of the accent.

Who was the most memorable character of Skippy Dies and why?

Skippy. It was really gripping to hear how badly he wanted to be accepted and wanted to be noticed.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful listen. The narrators really brought the story to life.

Oh, Those Irish!

Oh, those Irish and their beautiful way with words. Who else could take the dull, mundane world of a Catholic boys school and turn it into such a magical gem. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions - Murray's wit and ability to get under the skin of his characters is amazing. The first 2/3 of the book are so funny, from the Irish rappers auditioning for the Christmas Concert to Dennis' interpretation of "The Road Less Traveled" (he's convinced it's anal sex), to simple banter among young boys, Murray lulls you into a light, humorous world that somehow moves (almost in the blink of an eye) into the much more somber final section. All of it is worth is. All is written as expertly as the reviews said.

The recording is terrific, I'm usually not taken with "cast" recordings, but this one was so well cast, directed and edited, it was a winner. I loved the entire experience.

Captivating

This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to in a while. The performance of the narrators is fantastic. The story manages to be hilarious, sad, disturbing and educating all in one book. You won't be let down.

Slow start, good finish.

It took me a while to get into this story. It builds slowly and I had trouble trying to remember all the characters. But once I got it, I was glued. The narration was excellent and each Character had its own distinct voice. Good book, excellent narration.

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.

Good Read

Enjoyed this book. Narrator was pleasant with his English accent. Story line was a bit odd but in a good way.

Loved it.

Fun but not too light. A great listen. And he does die, but there's more. Highly recommended.

amazing

Not only do I feel sorry for the people who read this book on paper (concurring w/another reviewer) I feel sorry for those who did not stay with it. Although hard to listen to at times (violence and sex wise) for me it all worked-I loved all the readers and thought the voices were exceptonal (Mario was one of my favorites). I felt like I was watching a movie (and happy to hear they are making or have made one already) about the book. There's a reason this book won all the awards that it did. I loved it. Shout out to Anne Kingman from BOTNS for raving about it months ago on the podcast. Thanks Anne!