Set in an Irish boarding school, this novel examines the lives of the school's students and teachers as they become frayed by the expectations (both internal and external) of our modern lives. Far from being dour, though, it's mainly a commedy that satirizes many of our grand institutions such as religion, patriotism, and commerce. What truly sets this book apart, though, is how the author so perfectly captures the mix of credulity and cynicism, of wonder and doubt, that marks the teenage movement from adolescence to adulthood--a move that some of the book's adults are still struggling to cleanly make.
It's a book filled with heartbreaking moments of innocence and infuriating moments of pragmatism. And while the author never let's us lose sight of the hard realities of the world we've made, there are still many moments here where underdogs rise to greatness.
A wonderful and challenging book on a par with the very best novels of youth's struggle with itself, Skippy Dies is a major work by a major talent coming into his own. --Brandon C--