- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (24 Jun 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0141009934
- ISBN-13: 978-0141009933
- Product Dimensions: 18.6 x 13 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 302,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
An Evening of Long Goodbyes
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Acclaimed as one of the funniest and most assured Irish novels of recent years, 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 . . .
About the Author
Paul Murray studied for an MA in Creative Writing at UEA and lives in Dublin. An Evening of Long Goodbyes is his first novel.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
A black wind was blowing outside the bow window. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A black wind was blowing outside the bow window. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dublin as you've never seen it,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Evening of Long Goodbyes (Paperback)
An Evening of Long Goodbyes portrays Dublin from a highly unusual, witty and modern slant. In the rich suburbs of Killiney, in a grand old mansion, a brother and sister are leading very different lives. Their father dead, their mother in an institution suffering from her nerves, Charles and Bel are left to face the unknown. Charles sees himself as protector of the family name, whilst Bel tries desperately to pursue an acting career, all the while entertaining male companions of dubious repute (at least in her brother's eyes). And so Paul Murray lures us into the lives of these two very different characters. An Evening of Long Goodbyes is a very touching and witty story about two lost souls that struggle in the animal world that dominated the Celtic Tiger. By the end of the book I was sad to sever all contact with this world Paul Murray so wonderfully created. Dare I mention the greyhound races?!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An unusual and witty first novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: An Evening of Long Goodbyes (Paperback)
Those of you who, like me, tend to avoid first novels because so many of them centre around rote and tired coming-of-age stories, should suspend your prejudices for this witty and unusual book. It avoids many of the pitfalls that first time novelists fall into - Murray concentrates on the writing first and foremost, while still delivering engaging and funny characters. It tells the story of Charles Hythloday, a wealthy layabout, his high-strung actress sister Bel, and their attempts to save their large crumbling family mansion from interference from the outside world. The writing is lyrical, witty, and often touching, with a stand-out dream sequence where Charles goes on holidays with WB Yeats. The only misgiving I had about this book was that in the early chapters, the characters often seemed to belong to different books - Charles is an entirely unrealistic creation, but other minor characters seem to be satires of various Dublin types. But this is only a small problem, and may not even bother some readers. As the book progresses, the comic tone becomes more assured, and the reader accepts the characters as they are presented. Very enjoyable and highly recommended.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paul Murray, take a bow...,
By
This review is from: An Evening of Long Goodbyes (Paperback)
I am going to unabashedly rave about this book. I began reading it, lured in by the cover's blurb describing a character who wants to be left in peace but `life has other ideas'. As I was rather sad at the time, I too was feeling that I just wanted to be alone. To my surprise I found myself laughing so much that I was having to put down the book. It completely cheered me up.As I continued, however, I found myself leaving its Wodehouse-ian outlook for a sharp satire on the downside of the new booming economy in Ireland which, without blotting the comic tone of the book, came as an eye-opener to this Londoner. Finally I reached a destination so melancholy and elegiac that it stayed with me long after I had finished it. It is a book with a mad plot and oddball characters which some people won't warm to, but don't be put off. The plot is deceptive. In truth it is as tight as a coiled spring. As for the eccentric characters, they all have a heart that beats and makes you want to stay with them. Paul Murray has woven hilarity, wit, satire and heartbreaking beauty into a tale of extraordinary and abundant imagination. I take my hat off to him.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
