This was the best contemporary book I read this year. (I also read war and peace, and that gets the spot for best book; sorry Mr Murray). I admit I was somewhat turned off by the title. The title is certainly descriptive, though: Skippy, the main character, dies, in the first five pages. Most of the remainder of the book goes back in time to explain why, and then to death with the aftermath.

The book takes place at a private boarding school for boys in Dublin, and in some ways the setting makes this book feel a lot like Infinite Jest without the DFW's broad literate virtuosity. This isn't at all slap against Paul Murray's skill as a writer -- nearly all of the characters in this book are wonderfully drawn, the plot moves forward at a fast clip, and there are moments that are both outrageously funny and heartbreakingly sad. And despite its outrageousness and occasional surreal moments the book feels very real, both from the point of view of the older characters and from the teenagers.

I loved it, I loved it, I loved it.