The Murphy

by Spike Milligan

Murphy is Irish and poor. Even by the standards of the poorest of the poor in Ireland, Murphy is poor.

Set sometime between the first and second World Wars, somewhere in Ireland and sometimes everywhere else besides -- at one point Murphy is kidnapped by Irish aliens who take him in a spaceship to see St Patrick choose his National Lottery numbers -- Murphy's story serves only to prove that the luck of the Irish is not bestowed upon all the sons of the nation.

Unable to hold down his job on a building site he turns to robbery but is discovered trapped inside a suit of armour, almost drowns when he falls down a wishing well and catches a particularly revolting form of bronchitis whilst on religious retreat in a particularly revolting form of monastery. As you would expect, The Murphy is rude, irreverent and hugely funny. Classic, timeless Milligan.

Genres: Humor, Comedy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Terence Alan Patrick Seán Milligan, known as Spike, was a comedian, writer and musician. He was of Irish descent, but spent most of his childhood in India and lived most of his later life in England, moving to Australia after retirement. He is famous for his work in The Goon Show, children's poetry and a series of comical autobiographical novels about his experiences serving in the British Army in WWII. Spike Milligan suffered from bipolar disorder, which led to depression and frequent breakdowns, but he will be remembered as a comic genius. His tombstone reads 'I told you I was ill' in Gaelic.

Reviews

[Stefan Grieve]

So full of jokes and so little plot it might as well be a joke book. A lot of the jokes made me laugh out loud, others left me blinking. Some are of their time and off colour. The majority are very silly.

There are no character arcs, nothing is learnt and apart from the jokes landing there are no real other impacts, apart from some absurdity, opinions and a sprinkle of existentialism. Somewhat enjoyably refreshing, in a way, but quite slight.

[Naoise]

I haven't actually read this book in it's entirety. However, I do randomly read a couple of pages here and there when I need a pick-me-up and Spike's humour and absolute bonkers writing never fails to make me laugh.

[David Stimpson]

like any Milligan book .you have to love his comedy brilliance ..mad really mad