Skippy Dies

Occasionally, but not frequently, a book comes along that blows me out of the water. Even more rarely, this book is a contemporary novel. But when the stars align just right, a book like "Skippy Dies" appears, and I briefly feel that literature has a future.

The death of Daniel 'Skippy' Juster via donut, and the events preceding and proceeding the event, make up the narrative of the novel. More importantly, though are the characters and circumstances that lead to his final words - written in jelly on the floor of the donut shop - and the impact his death has on the world around him, from his friends to his enemies, and even his history teacher.

I can honestly say that the author - Paul Murray - captures life at an Irish boarding school perfectly (at least as far as I'm concerned, based on my experiences as an American middle school teacher). The drama and conflict between the characters is perfectly portrayed as both mundane (in the big picture) and life-changing (in their small world).

It is hard to put into words how amazing I find this novel, even (now) months after I finished reading it.

The key to this novel is its balance. It is at times laugh-out-loud-funny, but edge-of-your-seat-thrilling at others, and even kinda-makes-you-think-deep at others. None of these features diminishes the others in this book, which is often a flaw in other novels. Instead, they all build upon each other to a fantastic piece of literary artwork.

Murray effectively shows the teenage angst of trying to find meaning, purpose, and connection in life through the character of Ruprecht, whose obsession with an obscure physics concept known as M-Theory leads him to believe that he might be able to communicate with his dead roommate. Meanwhile, Murray also shows how those same struggles play out in adult life through the history teacher Howard Fallon. Though Ruprecht and Fallon - whose lives are connected, though they don't realize it - may have different symbols for their dreams, their ultimate desire remains the same.

The plot and characters and themes of this novel are powerful, in and of themselves. Topped off with Murray's prose - which can only be described as masterful and elegant - this book is as near to perfect as any contemporary novel can be, in my opinion.

Go read it. Now.