While a brilliant mix of tragedy and comedy, Paul Murray's book can best be described, in my opinion, as akin to running a marathon. Long and arduous, and only truly appreciated at the end. The novel is truly unique as it finds a way to seamlessly include depression, drug abuse, sexual predation, and death along with the sexually charged comments of teenage boys, string theory, and boarding school antics. There is a character for everyone in this book: the popular girl, the nerd, the teenage lothario, the teacher with a mid-life crisis, and the struggling, depressed adolescent. While there were times I felt bogged down by the sheer volume of the story and the depth of the character development (which, I might add, is not usual for me with books of this size), I could appreciate the narrative Paul Murray has crafted once the race is over. The overall picture is worth pushing through the occasional dry spot. A book that begins with and centers around the death of a 14 year old boy could easily be a complete bummer. And truth be told, part of me did find this book exhausting. But I think that is mainly because of just how emotionally invested I became in the story. Skippy Dies is so densely packed with a myriad of issues teenagers face, and think about how exhausting it was to simply be a teenager! I felt so connected to how these characters dealt with loss, change, peer/family/academic pressure, and the general navigation of teenage life and they are all written so with so much care and detail. Definitely not an easy, breezy read, but worth every single page in my opinion.
What do You think about Skippy Dies (2010)?
Not rating - couldn't get through the first 3 chapters. Just not my kind of book.
—dkm50_1
Just awesome. Funny, touching, and so much more. Loved it!
—Camille
