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)

Classic

Amazing story and performances They need this team to do other books. Highly enjoyable and maybe we need a follow up?

great listen

As a teacher in an all boys Catholic school, I felt very much at home with so many of the Characters, Paul Murray delightfully captures the voice of the young freshmen, the faculty, administrators and the parents. His universe is void of cheap sentimentality. His portrayal of the Church is fair and his sense of the "catholic imagination" is strong! His story reminds me of the richness of a medieval tapestry in its complexity and beauty. I laughed and cried my way to work for over a week. While I lost touch with current events - I am better for spending time in Murray's story!

Disappointing

After reading numerous reviews about this book being being laugh out load funny, I took a chance and got it. I do wish I could have a do-over on this purchase. Though the narration is exellant, this book is dark and depressing. The characters are too stereotypical; the young boys are more conflicted than filled with teen angst, and the adults are spineless. Though there are about five passages where I laughed, the subject of this book is the suicide of a young boy brought on by child abuse and drug use. I do not find any of that funny. I was not happy with my purchase of this book.

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.