Skippy Dies

By: Paul Murray

Narrated by: Patrick Moy

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Paul Murray's hilarious book, Skippy Dies. Read by the actor Patrick Moy.

'Skippy and Ruprecht are having a doughnut-eating race one evening when Skippy turns purple and falls off his chair . . .'

And so begins this epic, tragic, comic, brilliant novel set in and around Dublin's Seabrook College for Boys. Principally concerning 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), various attempts to unravel string theory . . . while at the same time exploring the very deepest mysteries of the human heart.

©2010 Paul Murray (P)2011 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

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

"One of the most enjoyable, funny and moving reads of this year. A rare tragicomedy that’s both genuinely tragic and genuinely comic." (The Guardian)

"Savagely funny, brimful of wit, energy, poetry and vision, unflaggingly entertaining. A triumph." (The Sunday Times)

Excellent narrator for a hilarious and sad story

What made the experience of listening to Skippy Dies the most enjoyable?

Skippy Dies not only is a great story (hilarious and sad at the same time), but was even more enjoyable due to the excellent narration. All the characters, with their different accents, were really brought to life by Patrick Moy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Skippy Dies?

All the conversations amongst the boys who are in the midst of their puberty. Hilarious!

Have you listened to any of Patrick Moy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I haven't, but sure would like to after this one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh heaps of times, although it was extremely sad at other times.

Any additional comments?

A great listen. Not only because of the above-mentioned things, but also because of the critical attitude of the author towards traditional catholic boarding schools like this one, without becoming moralistic.

A mixed bag but worth it

Patrick Moy is such an outstanding narrator... so much so I was occasionally 'distracted' by his performance. The story is layered and character led and, despite wandering out where the buses don't go, it is a nourishing read with surprises, chuckles and winces. My only issue was it was a story in search of a genre... but perhaps that's what made it interesting. Recommended.

good family book

This is a book you could plug in and play on a long road trip for the whole family..
Good story, enjoyable, funny, poignant and entertaining. Suitable for all ages..

Enjoyed both the story and the narration!

I’ve been meaning to read this book for several years but I’m glad that I listened to the audio book version. As an Irish person I thought the narrator was excellent, getting the accents/speaking style of the characters very much in line with their characteristics and bringing to life the stereotypes that the author developed so well. It was almost a satire of a particular segment of Irish society.

The story itself deals with some heavy topics (teenage drug use, depression, self-worth and mental health) but is told in a humorous way. The multiple layers show a critique of society. I think it’s an excellent story but will particularly appeal if you know pre-recession Dublin and Ireland. It’s definitely not for children or younger teenagers who might not understand the challenge the book is making.

Perfection. Listened to it twice! *****

I LOVED this book. The narrator is the best I have heard, completely exceptional in every way, the different voices of all these different boys were all very clearly defined and easy to follow. The changes in pace were perfect... very impressive. The story is complex and yet fast paced, the dialog is brilliant and funny.
This book is basically about a group of boys at a Catholic boarding school. It's in contemporary times, they have iPods and internet porn. There is a messed up teacher, the kind of 'result' that these young boys can expect from life, he is not the hero. The hero is an unlikely character who dies in the first 10 minutes. We then go back in time to see what lead up to that moment and the final part of the book takes you past the moment of Skippy's death.
The language is brilliantly written, the interactions between the boys ring so true and are in turns hilarious and heartbreaking. The adults surrounding these boys are far more deluded and messed up than the boys and that's part of the charm. Yes there is sex, and bad language, and descriptions of porn and violence.
This is not a kids book. But it felt like a very real description of what goes on inside the heads of boys. I am a woman, so I found that fascinating. I must say the writer clearly has an issue with women, all the female characters are pretty unlikeable and mostly one dimensional. I was worried I would not like the book with all this testosterone flying around, but I love love loved it. I miss all the boys, and am still thinking of them...
It really rewards a second listen as you pick up on stuff and connections you missed in the first. If you liked Dead Poets Society the movie, then you will love this, very similar feel. GET IT NOW!

Patrick Moy deserves an oscar

I am such a massive fan of this book, made me laugh out loud, made me think hard, made me wish for it to be longer. Buy it just to listen to the narration ❤️❤️❤️

I don't get the fuss at all.

I found this story boring, and I felt the characters were all unpleasant. I've only listened to 5 hours of it, but I can't bear to listen to the next 16 so I'm giving up. I don't understand all the rave reviews, especially the idea that this book is funny. How?
The protagonists are depressed, self involved, racist, sexist teenage boys who are so lacking in intellectual curiosity or personal introspection that they may as well be caricatures. The adults around them are mostly sad, bickering, doubting, dishonest, ineffectual and/or bulling in their nature.
The story is mostly internal dialogue and conversations, very little plot development so far. Therefore this novel hinges on the reader's relationship with the protagonists. Since I found the protagonists to be depressing cliches, this was not a book for me.