Scan barcode
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.
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.
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 drugginggnuoymas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
this is actually the SECOND time that i have read this book, but the first time for my Irish year. this is a MAMMOTH of a book that not only describes the death of skippy in the first three pages, but is a snapshot of life at seabrook before and after skippy dies. we get access into the perspectives of all sorts of characters, from skippy's motley crew of 14 year old bois to the monks and other staff on campus. in this we find a microcosm of the life of a school and 2 degrees of separation everyone is from one another.
what i really enjoyed about this book is seeing how, in a small community, we are all connected to each other and that each character can have a different perspective of one situation. one Halloween hop can have the normal awkwardness of a high school dance, the secret love affair between two staff members, and the one-track mind of the demented student trying to get into the hop to ruin it all. a lot of this was hard to read because of how real it felt for them. murray plays with form through run on sentences, no quotation marks for dialogue, and a special text for talking about the pop star Bethani that helps to get into the minds of the character and empathize.
a through line in the novel is the theme of negligence. skippy, from many perspectives, was slowly corroding and breaking without any supervision by the people who were supposed to be there. similarly, we see howard the coward, a kind of adult mirror to skippy, who continues to neglect the life that is right in front of him, ultimately losing it.
the second half of the novel sees many of the characters break down and become the most unhealthy versions of themselves. we see the characters lose sight of reality, whether that be because of skippy himself or the effects of events that had led to skippy's death. it's desperate and heartbreaking. you can see how a single person's absence can effect an entire community. we see them grieve by holding onto whatever they can. this reminds me of the many directions that this novel goes. it shows how much paul murray researched for this novel. whether it be string theory or a special class of Irish soldiers in WWI, it seems that there is so much depth and knowledge that you can pick a part.
one thing that i did not like about the novel is the female characters. it seems that their portrayal was one dimensional and used for the sake of moving the male characters forward in some way. i especially didn't understand some of the logical moves that these characters take other than to be used as a pseudo-intellectual observation on youth and loyalty.
i will say that this novel is not for someone looking for a lighthearted story. it is rife with drug abuse, descriptions of eating disorders, and sexual violence. i will say it's probably easier than a little life, but something to consider when you are thinking about reading this novel.
what i really enjoyed about this book is seeing how, in a small community, we are all connected to each other and that each character can have a different perspective of one situation. one Halloween hop can have the normal awkwardness of a high school dance, the secret love affair between two staff members, and the one-track mind of the demented student trying to get into the hop to ruin it all. a lot of this was hard to read because of how real it felt for them. murray plays with form through run on sentences, no quotation marks for dialogue, and a special text for talking about the pop star Bethani that helps to get into the minds of the character and empathize.
a through line in the novel is the theme of negligence. skippy, from many perspectives, was slowly corroding and breaking without any supervision by the people who were supposed to be there. similarly, we see howard the coward, a kind of adult mirror to skippy, who continues to neglect the life that is right in front of him, ultimately losing it.
the second half of the novel sees many of the characters break down and become the most unhealthy versions of themselves. we see the characters lose sight of reality, whether that be because of skippy himself or the effects of events that had led to skippy's death. it's desperate and heartbreaking. you can see how a single person's absence can effect an entire community. we see them grieve by holding onto whatever they can. this reminds me of the many directions that this novel goes. it shows how much paul murray researched for this novel. whether it be string theory or a special class of Irish soldiers in WWI, it seems that there is so much depth and knowledge that you can pick a part.
one thing that i did not like about the novel is the female characters. it seems that their portrayal was one dimensional and used for the sake of moving the male characters forward in some way. i especially didn't understand some of the logical moves that these characters take other than to be used as a pseudo-intellectual observation on youth and loyalty.
i will say that this novel is not for someone looking for a lighthearted story. it is rife with drug abuse, descriptions of eating disorders, and sexual violence. i will say it's probably easier than a little life, but something to consider when you are thinking about reading this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abandonment, Religious bigotry, and Rape
hrhacissej's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
The setting is a private boys school in Ireland. If you have spent any amount of time with teenage boys, you will know that nothing is safe from sexual innuendo. Murray captures the banter and the testosterone fueled behavior of teen boys really well. Avoid this book if you can't stomach it. Otherwise, it is worth your investment of time.
More...