An Evening of Long Goodbyes

(Paperback)

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Description

The wonderfully funny first novel from the author of the widely praised Skippy Dies Acclaimed as one of the funniest and most assured Irish novels of the last decade, An Evening of Long Goodbyes is the story of Dubliner Charles Hythloday and the heroic squandering of the family inheritance. Featuring drinking, greyhound racing, vanishing furniture, more drinking, old movies, assorted Dublin lowlife, eviction and the perils of community theatre, Paul Murray's debut novel is a tour de force of comedic writing wrapped in an honest-to-goodness tale of a man - and a family - living in denial . . .

Reviews

"Paul Murray manages to fit a brilliantsocial novelin the small spaces of a farce, without ever losing his lightness of touch or his sense of humor. The result is something absolutely unique. Murray starts with Wodehouse (and does him proud), but ends somewhere entirely his ownsomewhere very, very funny and surprisingly touching. I really love this book."
Arthur Phillips, bestselling author of Prague

A lyrical, satirical tour de force, a huge, hilarious elegy. A surreal and very funny festival of truths, fictions, luck, and love. How can this be a first novel A triumph.
Ali Smith, Booker Prize finalist and author of Hotel World

One of the most entertaining and laugh-out-loud Irish yarns of recent years.
Irish Independent

The plot scuttles along with Wodehouse-like delirium. . . . Murrays clearly having fun, but beneath the bouncy tone he manages to weave real depth into the characters relationships.
Time Out (London)

A hilarious, rich and satisfying novel.
The Times Literary Supplement

[A] comedy of the highest caliber.
The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

Author Bio

Paul Murray is the author of An Evening of Long Goodbyes, which was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2003, and Skippy Dies, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award in 2010 and (in the United States) the National Book Critics Circle Award. The Mark and the Void is his third novel. He lives in Dublin.