An Evening of Long Goodbyes

By Paul Murray

Book Overview

Another unmissable comic outing from the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Bee Sting

Shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award

'Hilarious, rich and satisfying' Times Literary Supplement

'Arguably the funniest debut in years, An Evening of Long Goodbyes ranks with Zadie Smith's White Teeth as a stunning document of an English-speaking metropolis in flux' LA Times

This is the story of Charles Hythloday and the heroic squandering of a 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 first 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.

'Comedy of the highest calibre and a good, fast-paced yarn. An excellent read' Sunday Tribune

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0241955890
• ISBN13: 9780241955895
• Release Date: April 2011
• Publisher: Hamish Hamilton UK
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 0.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.1" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

An Evening (or two) of Laughs!

This is one of the funniest novels I've ever read. On the cover of a lot of books it's stated that a novel is funny, but few ever live up to the hype. Sure, many are told in an amusing tone, but very few make you laugh aloud on a consistent basis. But Mr. Murray, with his wry Irish wit, delivers on page after page. The characters are well fleshed and vulnerable, the plot is straight ahead and convincing, and the humor comes from all angles. If you love British/Irish humor, or even if you don't, this is a novel not to be ignored.

You can't help but LOVE Charles

This book was so incredibly funny. The main character, Charles, is sure to win your heart over with his innocence and naivety to the real world. He is charming and amazingly unaware of his surroundings because he's so self-absorbed. This high-society brat ends up learning about life the hard way from an unlikely character, Frank, who is Charles' complete opposite, and you can't help but cheer this friendship on. Paul Murray gives such a vivid description of Charles that you can literally see how out of place he is in his surroundings, which in turn will make you crack up trying to visualize it all. This was one of those books that when you finish it, you want to pick it right back up again and start all over.

Evenings Spent Laughing Out Loud

This book was addictive. I nearly had to go to hospital with ruptured stomach muscles from all the laughter. Pay up your medical insurance before you read it!

"A Box of Nuts Chewing the Rag"

In "An Evening of Long Goodbyes" Paul Murray has conjured up a delicious assortment of nut cases, whetted with an ever-flowing array of alcoholic beverages, who crack frequently along a chewey Squirrel Nut Zipper plot. Visit each of these characters, laugh at their amazingly illogical takes on life, love and especially themselves, but avoid staying long enough to catch anything they suffer from.

An Improving Book

This book really hit the spot for me. If Bertie Wooster were to wander into the world of "TrainSpotting", this would be the result....A witty, moving mixture of P.G. Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Nick Hornby, Irvine Welsh, and Stephen Fry. Like Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster stories, this book is written in the first person, which makes it possible for every sentence to be funny. Ranks very high among the wine and spirits. Highly recommended.