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onceandfuturereads's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Through the parallel lives of young actress Bel and the late Gene Tierney emerges a story of one lost and crumbling family told through the eyes of a constantly-misunderstanding brother Charles. written in Murray’s absurd style “an evening of long goodbyes” will have you laughing at the antics of the Amelia Bedelia-style narrator, yet the ending ties everything up quite poignantly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Child abuse
liseplease's review
5.0
Hilarious and farcical narration and plot, with soulful and poignant character monologues makes this one of the best book I've read this year.
urlphantomhive's review against another edition
4.0
READ IN ENGLISH
Skippy Dies was read as a group read on the Dutch forum Ezzulia.nl. I don't think we've ever read a book that caused so much different opinions and discussion. Needless to say, I was very curious to Paul Murray's first book An Evening of Long Goodbyes.
Well, it certainly isn't your standard novel. As in Skippy Dies, it feels sometimes as if nothing really happens (though actually in this book, quite a lot happens, but it feels never hasted). Combine this with a fantastic sense of (ironic) humour, and I've to admit that I really liked this one. It's no Skippy, but it's definitely worth a read!
Skippy Dies was read as a group read on the Dutch forum Ezzulia.nl. I don't think we've ever read a book that caused so much different opinions and discussion. Needless to say, I was very curious to Paul Murray's first book An Evening of Long Goodbyes.
Well, it certainly isn't your standard novel. As in Skippy Dies, it feels sometimes as if nothing really happens (though actually in this book, quite a lot happens, but it feels never hasted). Combine this with a fantastic sense of (ironic) humour, and I've to admit that I really liked this one. It's no Skippy, but it's definitely worth a read!
stephen_coulon's review against another edition
5.0
A young aesthete finds himself destitute after his grand family’s fortunes fall through. However, his unwillingness to abandon his life as a cosmopolitan flâneur drives him towards ironically great deeds as he attempts to recover the one great love of his life: his family’s impractically decadent ancestral mansion. After so many dreary and cheerless books lately, I’ve finally fallen upon a genuinely hilarious and heartwarming tale. Murray’s wit is on par with (and echoes the works of) Wilde, Wooster, Toole, and Hornby, and his remarkable mastery of English diction pushes his style towards virtuosity. Concise characterization and memetic dialogue smoothly glide the narrative through bemonocled high society and betracksuited hoi polloi with equally familiar wagishness. Of equal importance to Murray’s polished and playful wit is a hallmark he shares with other great satirists, a warm affection at the heart of his approach. Just behind the banter and mockery lies a charitable embrace of humanity and all its ludicrous foibles. The best book I’ve read in 2021 so far.
jasmijn's review against another edition
3.0
Hmm. This one didn't quite do it for me. I expected a highly funny read like the blurbs and quite some reviews here promised, but I felt it all fell a bit flat. Charles, the main character / narrator, was too much of a caricature to me, which would have been fine had the rest of the book not been quite so serious. Still, 3 stars for writing, originality and helping me read Frank in an Irish accent.
sohnesorge's review
4.0
Paul Murray's first novel. It's not as fabulous as his second, Skippy Dies, but it's right up there. A humourous look at the changes in Irish (specifically Dublin) society in the wake of the dot com wave, and an examination of one family's secrets and the harm they can do. Murray give us memorable characters, an unpredictable, entertaining plot, and a tremendously funny (yet touching) slice of modern life; highly recommended.
nikoledove's review
5.0
I don't know how to express how much I absolutely loved this book. I read it while I was unemployed and looking for work and this book was my best friend.
I laughed so much I cried,
Charles is an infuriating yet lovable character, I loved every last minute of reading this book and was so sad to see it end.
I laughed so much I cried,
Spoiler
and I kept forgetting his head was mummified which just had me laughing even harder when it was mentioned.Charles is an infuriating yet lovable character, I loved every last minute of reading this book and was so sad to see it end.
a_lovesbooks's review
3.0
It took me forever to get into this book and actually finish it. Did I like it? I honestly don't know. Could I say what it was about? Definitely not. Maybe I didn't understand it. To me it seemed unfinished in a way; then again that could have been intentional. What was Charles' goal and did he achieve it? I mean did he achieve anything? In the end he seemed to be... different. But not even in a good way. Well, I really don't know what to think of this book. I'm surprised I actually got through it in the end. Therefore I am not sure if I should recommend it.
harvio's review
3.0
- short-listed for the Whitbread Prize
- light, amusing upper-class comedy (in a P.G. Wodehouse sort of way) set in Dublin and its surroundings
- the protagonist, Charles Hythloday is accurately described as part Bertie Wooster and part Ignatius J. Reilly (from 'A Confederacy Of Dunces')
- light, amusing upper-class comedy (in a P.G. Wodehouse sort of way) set in Dublin and its surroundings
- the protagonist, Charles Hythloday is accurately described as part Bertie Wooster and part Ignatius J. Reilly (from 'A Confederacy Of Dunces')