Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

4 reviews

onceandfuturereads's review

adventurous dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Say if we started going back in time tonight, could we keep going back for as long as we wanted?" 

If Catch-22 (think Minderbinder's deranged clone) and The Chocolate War (think open secrets and untouchable elite) had a baby, it would be called "Skippy Dies." If you can handle 661 pages of the meandering interests of teenagers coupled with the senseless actions of the adults tasked with raising them, then this book is for you. And yes, that is a dare. 

This book juxtaposes some of my favorite things: science and paganism...and also, adults and teenagers.

Murray's writing style is unique in that it immediately transports the reader to another world. The characters' voices rang through the pages and I carried their heartaches with me throughout the day. Every night I would read a few chapters and find myself astonished at the persistent proof of a simple claim: that adults are far more clueless than kids. It's been demonstrated time and time again ("when you grow up, your heart dies," from Breakfast Club comes to mind) but it's the type of theme that deserves its own epic. 

I wish there was a sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, and Cultural appropriation

pun1sher's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Don't pick up this book if you want a quick, easy read.
This is a dark, dark comedy where the bad guys get away with what they've done, kids go crazy, and adults are all liars or sad or both. Skippy dies is about everything and nothing at all; at moments it reads fast, on other occasions its slow and painful to get through. It takes effort to finish this book because it's weird illogical unsettling and resembles a dense mud puddle. I'm not sure if those struggles are exactly worth it for everyone, but I'm not going to regret the time spent finding out why Skippy died and what happened after. Those 600 something pages are a tangle of horny teenage boys, private schools, disturbing secrets of the Catholic priests, failed inventions, grief, toxic relationships, donuts, and whatnot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Eating disorder, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Animal death, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Infidelity, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, and Adult/minor relationship

homophobic slurs, vulgar discussion of sexual intercourse, fantasies of noncon/rape (including child rape), nword usage by white characters, attempted drugging

cepbreed's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

At first I was very intimidated by the length of this book (and the fact I had to read along and discuss with a partner I barely know) but it was so easy and worth it to become invested in the story. The subject matter is heavy (covering addiction, mental illness, racism, bullying etc) but it never loses its core tone, the humor that comes along with a group of clueless teenage boys just trying to figure things out.

Songs: 

• Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club
• Parking Lot - HUNNY
• Sex Sells - Lovejoy

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Alcohol, Fatphobia, and Eating disorder

Minor: Cancer

alingtori's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was one hell of a book. At 661 pages, I didn't expect to finish it in a week. 

At the center of it all is of course, the titular character Skippy, whose death we encounter at the start of the book. Despite having his name in the title, Skippy doesn't really stand out much in the story. Instead, we get to hear from a wide set of characters--from students, teachers, priests, school administrator, and even a staff of a diner. Various themes and topics are also discussed--from string theory to pop culture to drug abuse. This might seem chaotic, but the author manages to piece them all together into a story. 

It's funny, it's dark, it's informative, it's thoughtful, it's distasteful. But isn't that what life is? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Cancer and Fatphobia