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Skippy Dies

By Paul Murray
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Check link for latest rating. ( 26,717 ratings, 3,336 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Skippy Dies, penned by Paul Murray, unfolds within the walls of a prestigious Dublin boarding school, capturing the intertwining lives of students and staff. It begins with the tragic death of a student named Skippy and then explores the events and relationships leading up to that fateful moment. The narrative blends humour, tragedy, and satire to paint a vivid picture of adolescent struggles and the complexities of modern life.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you relish a mix of humour and tragedy set in a boarding school backdrop, this novel might captivate you. It deftly explores adolescent turmoil, friendships, and existential musings, offering a thoughtful yet entertaining read. Fans of character-driven stories with a touch of dark comedy will find this book especially engaging.

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Ruprecht Van Doren is an overweight genius whose hobbies include very difficult maths and the Search of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Daniel 'Skippy' Juster is his roommate. In the grand old Dublin institution that is Seabrook College for Boys, nobody pays either of them much attention.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Marvellous, witty, heartbreaking, intensely moving, excellent. The writing is second to none, the banter brilliant. Crazy, but beautiful — Daily Telegraph

Skippy Dies begins with Skippy and Ruprecht having a doughnut-eating race one evening when Skippy turns purple and falls off his chair. This sets the stage for an epic, tragic, comic, and brilliant novel set in and around Dublin's Seabrook College for Boys.

The story principally concerns the lives, loves, mistakes, and triumphs of overweight maths-whiz Ruprecht Van Doren and his roommate Daniel 'Skippy' Juster. It features a frisbee-throwing siren called Lori, the joys and horrors of first love, the use and blatant misuse of prescription drugs, Carl (the official school psychopath), and various attempts to unravel string theory—all while exploring the very deepest mysteries of the human heart.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray receives acclaim for its blend of humour and poignancy, crafting a tragicomic narrative that is both touching and entertaining. Reviewers highlight its wit, intelligence, and ability to delve into the complexities of adolescence with charm and empathy. The novel is praised as a masterful depiction of teenage life and a triumph of modern literary fiction.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141009957

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 07 April 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 41.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 462g

Pages: 672

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Paul Murray Penguin Books

About the Author

Paul Murray is the author of An Evening of Long Goodbyes, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2003, and Skippy Dies, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award in 2010 and (in the United States) the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Mark and the Void is his third novel. He lives in Dublin.

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