Vastly entertaining and outright hilarious, Paul Murray’s debut heralds the arrival of a major new Irish talent. His protagonist is endearing...
read full description
reviews
Oct 09, 2011
Jennifer (aka EM)
rated it: 
This book sucked me down into an abyss, and I’ve barely just now escaped. It’s certainly set my Goodreads challenge back weeks. I kept going and going; five pages before bed, sometimes three. A streak of 20 while dividing my attention between it and Grey's Anatomy. Talk about inertia in a plot!! Plot? Where?
After the brilliance of Skippy Dies, I was expecting so much more - or at least, given this was Murray's first novel, some parallels. Some of the complexity; the careful and c More...
After the brilliance of Skippy Dies, I was expecting so much more - or at least, given this was Murray's first novel, some parallels. Some of the complexity; the careful and c More...
8 comments
like
(7 people liked it)
Dec 06, 2011
Carolyn
rated it: 
I got this book at a library sale, and have to admit, I'm glad I didn't have to spend much money on it. While in places it's quite hilarious, the writing is uneven and sometimes hard to follow. Charles Hythloday would like to live in a style that allows him plenty of artistic license and little responsibility (who wouldn't?) and he actually has an estate in Ireland that allows him to do so - or it did before cold reality set in. His half-hearted efforts to set things right are pretty funny, a bi
More...
Dec 23, 2010
Boyd
rated it:
An absolute mess of a plot--especially near the end--and generous helpings of melodrama do not outweigh the fact that Murray's picaresque novel is wildly funny at the sentence level and in several whole sections as well. Some of the best parts are those in which the layabout wastrel Charles is ejected from his stately home and, in an exceedingly improbable move, takes refuge in a hovel with his sister's loutish ex-boyfriend. Naturally the lout turns out to have a heart of gold etc., but luckily
More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Feb 05, 2009
Irish writer Murray makes a brilliant debut with Long Goodbyes, which was a finalist for the prestigious Whitbread First Novel Award after its publication in the U.K. in 2003. Often compared to P.G. Wodehouse, Noel Coward, John Kennedy Toole, and Flann O'Brien (an Irish satirist), with a touch of Chekhov thrown in, Murray has penned a solipsistic soliloquy that deftly mixes farce and melodrama with social commentary. Most critics had few complaints, though a few noted some blips in the plotting.
More...
Jun 11, 2011
Jenna
rated it:
Murray is a fantastic writer, and this first novel of his is an incredible accomplishment--made me laugh, cry, all that.
The thing is...I read it after I read his second novel, "Skippy Dies," which is just about one of the best novels I've ever read (made me both laugh and cry harder). So I think reading "An Evening of Long Goodbyes" made me both more charitable toward Murray but also a little disappointed that his first novel isn't as good as his second. No real s More...
The thing is...I read it after I read his second novel, "Skippy Dies," which is just about one of the best novels I've ever read (made me both laugh and cry harder). So I think reading "An Evening of Long Goodbyes" made me both more charitable toward Murray but also a little disappointed that his first novel isn't as good as his second. No real s More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 29, 2011
Shnedwards
rated it:
I enjoyed this. It was like A Confederacy of Dunces, but set in Dublin instead of New Orleans. I think the person from the Sunday Tribune who described it as "a fast-paced yarn" on the back was reading a different book from me, though. It's not fast-paced at all. In fact, it rambles. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It means there's more room for stuff like this:
"I don't think much of your doorman"
"Doorman?" Frank repeated.
"Yes More...
"I don't think much of your doorman"
"Doorman?" Frank repeated.
"Yes More...
Mar 01, 2009
Nick
rated it: 
What a great book. The endpaper likened it to A Confederacy of Dunces, but this is the FAR BETTER book. The style and construction are similar, as is the main character's rather loose connection to what the world at large calls "reality". Though far from being actually idiotic, Charles is much more of Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster. There is no Jeeves to constantly put Charles right, so he makes his own mistakes and learns important lessons in life. At times you can get lost in the no
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 25, 2010
Louise
rated it: 
This book was very funny and poignant at the same time. I found the beginning in particular very amusing, although toward the end the book took a more serious turn. After the first sequence of events concluded, I wondered where the book could go from there, and was pleasantly surprised that it kept me engaged. I thought the descriptive writing was excellent -- very good at evoking particular images without becoming boring or overinflated. Also, I liked the way the ending tied together and su
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Sep 20, 2010
Felice
rated it:
If you cannot bring yourself to let loose on Pual Murray's Skippy Dies and despite my adoring the novel I can understand why a book about adolescent boys might not being alluring, then read Murray's matchless novel An Evening of Long Good-byes instead. It is wonderful. You'll laugh, you'll cry--- from laughing more--- and you'll wish it doesn't end. Charles Hythloday's sad realization that he must work when all he wants is to be a retired country gentlemen is a comic joy. Really. This is b More...
Feb 01, 2012
Keith
rated it:
Murray's sophomore novel, Skippy Dies was on my top ten list for 2011. I was delighted to discover his first novel, An Evening of Long Goodbyes, after finishing Skippy Dies . Reaction to the first one is mixed here on GoodReads and I do agree that it's picaresque structure often meandered a wee bit too much to sustain deep interest. Nevertheless, I think this was brilliantly done and is a perfect indicator of the talent that Murray displayed with his second effort. I suspect that the mixed react
More...
Apr 26, 2011
Allycks
rated it:
It's springtime and I over-optimistically fell for the first gushy low-cut blurbs that came my way. How my head spun while admiring the abundant heaving decollette which guaranteed an "original, rich, satisfying... and supremely well-written..." ahhh, you don't want to know the rest.
"An Evening of Long Goodbyes: A Novel" is supremely well-written, I'll give it that much. Paul Murray has crafted a supremely well-written but mammothly over-long script for a sit- More...
"An Evening of Long Goodbyes: A Novel" is supremely well-written, I'll give it that much. Paul Murray has crafted a supremely well-written but mammothly over-long script for a sit- More...
3 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Feb 09, 2011
Anna
rated it:
Paul Murray's Skippy Dies was my arbitrarily chosen favorite novel of '10 (GAH do not make me make this decision!), and I am so very, very pleased to report that his first novel is every bit as good. Reviewers (including me) have thrown around comparisons to Wodehouse, but--and I say this while shamefacedly hanging my head for never having read Wodehouse, just totally watched all the Fry and Laurie Jeeves and Woosters--I think Evening also partakes greedily of the spirit of Evelyn Waugh, at his
More...
Jan 31, 2011
Charlotte (Buried in Books)
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 06, 2008
Jesse
rated it:
Tee-hee. As funny as they claim. Charles Hythlodale, a useless Bertie Wooster-ish Irish wastrel, lounges around the house drinking, sneering at the outside world, extolling elegance, and watching Gene Tierney movies. There are Bosnians in his house (he thinks; they're from somewhere over there, anyway), and he has never held a job; indeed, he drops out of Trinity and later meets a friend who complains that "rudimentary knowledge of theology" is no longer grounds for an entirely undeser
More...
Nov 19, 2010
Bibliophile
rated it:
An Evening of Long Goodbyes, Paul Murray's first novel (before the Booker-prize nominated Skippy Dies) is an odd sort of hybrid - it starts off as a modern-day Irish version of a P.G. Wodehouse farce (the narrator, Charles Hythloday, is trying to live a life of stylish leisure, though economic circumstances constrain him to go out and actually find a job) and it ends on a tragic note, with interim detours into melodrama, social realism and allegory (I'm thinking of a scene of mayhem on the dogtr
More...
Sep 25, 2011
Derek
rated it:
An overlong, rambling but sometimes quite funny novel. The novel's protagonist, Charles Hythloday, is an alien in the modern world, holed up in his childhood home, viewing the world askance. There's great comic writing in capturing his views and tone. But the plot is a mess, especially when he leaves that home: it all becomes a bit wearisome. Allegorical allusions abound - and they're too much! Cut 200 pages and it would be great.
Jul 28, 2011
Paul Murray's first novel. It's not as fabulous as his second, Skippy Dies, but it's right up there. A humourous look at the changes in Irish (specifically Dublin) society in the wake of the dot com wave, and an examination of one family's secrets and the harm they can do. Murray give us memorable characters, an unpredictable, entertaining plot, and a tremendously funny (yet touching) slice of modern life; highly recommended.
Mar 02, 2009
Kate
rated it:
A versatile novel, one that evolves from a playboy comedy to a piqued commentary on family, with perhaps a tinge of poor-little-rich-girl-itis.
A great read, one I can't wait to discuss in Book Club. The characters are fantastically written; I particularly loved Charles' blend of John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius Reilly and Ross O'Carrol-Kelly. Frank, Mrs. P, The All-Seeing Eye, and of course An Evening of Long Goodbyes himself make fantastic characters as well. You're guaranteed at leas More...
A great read, one I can't wait to discuss in Book Club. The characters are fantastically written; I particularly loved Charles' blend of John Kennedy Toole's Ignatius Reilly and Ross O'Carrol-Kelly. Frank, Mrs. P, The All-Seeing Eye, and of course An Evening of Long Goodbyes himself make fantastic characters as well. You're guaranteed at leas More...
Aug 13, 2011
Donna
rated it:
If P G Wodehouse could come back in the body of another author, I believe he could be happy residing in the typing fingers of Paul Murray. He might wonder why this book is quite so long and why the plot got a little mushy in the middle, but he would be smiling along with me.
Jan 26, 2011
Brynna
rated it:
I really enjoyed this book, but it was very different from what I expected. This is a very funny book, but being funny is not its main point, and that is where, I think, the marketing people have blundered slightly. The best way I can describe it is a musical analogy: Mr. Murray uses P. G. Wodehouse-like orchestration in conjunction with Russian lit-like harmonies. Great characters and quite spectacularly enjoyable writing.
Jul 21, 2010
Oceana2602
rated it:
This book looked so promising. It's red, there's a dog on the cover, it was described as "vastly entertaining and downright hilarious"...I was so looking forward to reading it.
Hmm.
I found it maybe "somewhat entertaining", and "mildly funny". And that's only because I like the dog on the cover. Murray wants too much too fast - he throws together a bunch of characters and storylines that each on its own, or maybe two or three of them together, More...
Hmm.
I found it maybe "somewhat entertaining", and "mildly funny". And that's only because I like the dog on the cover. Murray wants too much too fast - he throws together a bunch of characters and storylines that each on its own, or maybe two or three of them together, More...
Dec 30, 2010
Some reviewer claims this is BETTER than Confederacy of Dunces! I really liked "Skippy Dies" by Paul Murray so I will have to look for this in the library...Better than Confederacy of Dunces is quite a claim though...I'm skeptical
Nov 26, 2011
John
rated it:
Everyone I know adored this book and thought it was charming and hilarious, I just felt like it was wasting my time - I just didn't get drawn into its world and so it felt silly rather than funny, and more absurd than charming.
Sep 14, 2011
Colm
rated it:
For his inaugural novel, Paul did very well. It has all the hallmarks of a first novel, which gives some gratification for the smaller issues I found when reading it. What I didn't like was the random diversions into the life of Gene Tierney! Also some of the chapters meandered a little too much. This is not as enjoyable a read as Skippy Dies, that said it's not worth ignoring! I'd be disappointed if Paul didn't publish anything further!
Jun 03, 2010
Mike
rated it:
I've never had this happen before - this book really grabbed me, almost seduced me, pulled me in on a certain pretense. Before I could guard myself, it became something entirely different. This book affected me in a way few other books have. I was still thinking about it weeks after finishing it.
May 11, 2011
esterb
rated it:
Murray has written a truly witty, but very engaging and true (to life) story. The characters are rich and thoughtfully worked out. The dynamics between them is true and they result in great dialogues, actions and reactions in a very skilled crafted world. Do read!
Jan 01, 2012
Caelin
rated it:
It made me laugh & filled me with righteous indignation. Any narrative capable of making me love a character as loathsome as Charles Hythloday is well deserving of four stars.
Apr 30, 2009
Colleen
rated it:
Read for my first book club meeting. Pretty good - different than most novels I read. Starts a little slow but gets you hooked in the end, and even makes you think.
Dec 21, 2010
Trish
rated it:
It reminded me of P. G. Wodehouse without the good stuff. I could not force myself to finish it so I don't know if it got better.
Mar 21, 2009
Jeff
rated it:
The funniest novel I've ever read, though you have to appreciate British/Irish humor. Murray is the successor to P.G. Wodehouse.
