II.
In the narrative that follows Skippy Juster's death, Murray elaborates on the circumstances of Skippy's life as it was in the near-past, and then, the effect his passing has on family, friends and others. The main setting here is Seabrook College in the first decade of this century. Located in Dublin, Seabrook is a Catholic school for boys with a campus dormitory. Skippy shares a room there with Ruprecht Van Doren, an overweight teen gifted with an advanced ability in science.
Ruprecht is especially interested in the possibility of alternate universes. Van Doren's ambitious theories often draw the scorn of fellow student Dennis Hoey, who is always ready to puncture what he perceives as Ruprecht's self-importance. Indeed, about the dorm or attending classes, the novel records plenty of how these adolescents choose to express what they have on their minds.
Studying Frost's "The Road Not Taken", for example, Dennis offers an after class interpretation of the poem. I will only say of Dennis's reading that it is unique - and quite obscene. Dennis has a habit with pointed remarks, and one day he will take things too far with Ruprecht. "Ruprecht rises from the bed and ... hurls himself at Dennis ... a split-second expression of horror crosses his face before he is bowled over and disappears underneath his antagonist, who proceeds to bounce on top of him like a malevolent Buddha." <1>
Across the way from Seabrook, there is the girls' school St Brigid's, where "morning, lunchtime and evening the air rings with high feminine voices like lovely secular bells". Lori Wakeham is a student at St Brigid's, and it takes just one look at Lori for Skippy to become infatuated with her. His path to getting to know Lori will not be smooth. Skippy will have to contend, for instance, with Lori's fearsome quasi-boyfriend, Carl. The ultimate source of harm to Skippy in the novel, however, will not come from a teen drug-dealing thug like Carl, but rather, elements from the adult world itself.
III.
The adult world is also closely examined by Paul Murray, beginning with the parents and teachers who have the role of caring for and educating these young souls. The narrative blooms to include, among other things, matters of Irish history and mythology, past and present. This breadth, even just considered alone, makes Skippy Dies an adult novel. It is also a long one. But with the accomplishment of its bittersweet comedy and inventive prose, a reader may be assured in giving Skippy Dies their sustained attention.
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<1>Murray, Paul. Skippy Dies (2010). Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Books.
