New Releases by Paul Murray

Skippy tussen de sterren beschrijft één enkele catastrofale herfst op het internaat Seabrooks, gezien vanuit zon twintig verschillende uitgeschreven perspectieven: studenten, docenten, administratieve krachten, priesters, vriendinnetjes, en de manager van een donutwinkel. In het centrum van alles staat Daniel Juster, bijnaam Skippy, wiens dood in Eds Doughnut House, nadat hij nog net de naam van zijn vlam in frambozenvulling op de vloer heeft weten te schrijven de opening vormt van de roman. Skippy tussen de sterren gaat vervolgens met flashbacks terug naar de maanden die eraan voorafgaan, maanden waarin de zwaarmoedige veertienjarige verliefd wordt, een gevecht wint, een geheim bewaart en de aandacht trekt van faculteitsleden die niet perse het beste met hem voor hebben. Onderweg leren we Skippys vrienden en kwelgeesten kennen: Ruprecht, Skippys bolle, geniale kamergenoot die experimenten uitvoert om de snaartheorie te bewijzen; Dennis, een aarts-cynicus wiens dromen zelfs sarcastisch zijn; Carl, Skippys rivaal in de liefde en psychopaat-in-de-dop; Lori, het object van Skippys dromen, die geobsedeerd wordt door een Britney Spears-achtig muziekdelletje en haar dieetpillen verbergt in de buik van haar teddybeer; en Mario, lieve, domme Mario, wiens obsessie met seks vermoeiend zou worden als het niet de bron was van vele hilarische slaapkamergesprekken tussen de vrienden. Paul Murray neemt de tijd en de ruimte om een aantal onderwerpen op magistrale wijze uit te werken tot een energieke plot rondom Skippy''s dood, terwijl de roman tegelijkertijd een lofzang op de verloren jeugd is. De pers over Skippy tussen de sterren: ''Een (school)reünie waar iedereen naartoe moet! Grappig, ontroerend en soms pijnlijk herkenbaar.'' - Nu.nl ''Paul Murray heeft zeven jaar gewerkt aan Skippy tussen de sterren. Zijn op elke pagina voelbare toewijding heeft geleid tot een verraderlijk soepel weglezende, regelmatig hilarische, maar tegelijkertijd ongenaakbaar schurende en bijtende roman.'' - de Volkskrant ''Murray beheerst zijn taal meesterlijk. (...) Hij schrijft lichtvoetig, teder en prachtig terloops over de meest gruwelijke dingen die mensen elkaar aandoen.'' - NRC Handelsblad

In this comprehensive history of the Irish Boundary Commission, Paul Murray looks at British attempts from 1886 on to satisfy the Irish Nationalist demand for Home Rule, Ulster and British Unionist resistance to this demand, the 1920 partition of Ireland and the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, where the roots of the establishment of the Commission are to be found. The evidence presented at the Commission and the principles on which it based its decisions are analysed against the background of evolving British views on the dangers posed for British and Unionist interests on both islands by a radical redrawing of the 1920 border. New documentary evidence is brought to bear on the motivation of its Chairman Justice Feetham, his susceptibility to external influences, and the significance of his political background as possible factors in his final decisions. The history of the Irish Boundary Commission is shown to also be part of a larger European narrative. This study is, thus, the first large-scale attempt to consider its significance in its wider international context.

An entirely fresh approach To The Our Father, Jesus''s own prayer, through the eyes of one of the greatest saints, Thomas Aquinas.

The bestselling and critically acclaimed novel from Paul Murray, Skippy Dies, shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Book Awards, longlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Why does Skippy, a fourteen-year-old boy at Dublin''s venerable Seabrook College, end up dead on the floor of the local doughnut shop? Could it have something to do with his friend Ruprecht Van Doren, an overweight genius who is determined to open a portal into a parallel universe using ten-dimensional string theory? Could it involve Carl, the teenage drug dealer and borderline psychotic who is Skippy''s rival in love? Or could "the Automator"—the ruthless, smooth-talking headmaster intent on modernizing the school—have something to hide? Why Skippy dies and what happens next is the subject of this dazzling and uproarious novel, unraveling a mystery that links the boys of Seabrook College to their parents and teachers in ways nobody could have imagined. With a cast of characters that ranges from hip-hop-loving fourteen-year-old Eoin "MC Sexecutioner" Flynn to basketball playing midget Philip Kilfether, packed with questions and answers on everything from Ritalin, to M-theory, to bungee jumping, to the hidden meaning of the poetry of Robert Frost, Skippy Dies is a heartfelt, hilarious portrait of the pain, joy, and occasional beauty of adolescence, and a tragic depiction of a world always happy to sacrifice its weakest members. As the twenty-first century enters its teenage years, this is a breathtaking novel from a young writer who will come to define his generation.

Why does Skippy, a fourteen-year-old boy at Dublin''s venerable Seabrook College, end up dead on the floor of the local doughnut shop? Could it have something to do with his friend Ruprecht Van Doren, an overweight genius who is determined to open a portal into a parallel universe using ten-dimensional string theory? Could it involve Carl, the teenage drug dealer and borderline psychotic who is Skippy''s rival in love? Or could "the Automator"--the ruthless, smooth-talking headmaster intent on modernizing the school--have something to hide? Why Skippy dies and what happens next is the subject of this dazzling and uproarious novel, unraveling a mystery that links the boys of Seabrook College to their parents and teachers in ways nobody could have imagined. With a cast of characters that ranges from hip-hop-loving fourteen-year-old Eoin "MC Sexecutioner" Flynn to basketball-playing midget Philip Kilfether, packed with questions and answers on everything from Ritalin, to M-theory, to bungee jumping, to the hidden meaning of the poetry of Robert Frost, Skippy Dies is a heartfelt, hilarious portrait of the pain, joy, and occasional beauty of adolescence, and a tragic depiction of a world always happy to sacrifice its weakest members. As the twenty-first century enters its teenage years, this is a breathtaking novel, in this striking three-volume boxed set, from a young writer who will come to define his generation.

"First published in the UK as Door into the sacred: a meditation on the Hail Mary by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd."--T.p. verso.

Vastly entertaining and outright hilarious, Paul Murray’s debut heralds the arrival of a major new Irish talent. His protagonist is endearing and wildly witty–part P. G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster, with a cantankerous dash of A Confederacy of Dunces’ Ignatius J. Reilly thrown in. With its rollicking plot and colorful characters, An Evening of Long Goodbyes is a delightful and erudite comedy of epic proportions. Charles Hythloday observes the world from the comfortable confines of Amaurot, his family estate, and doesn’t much care for what he sees. He prefers the black-and-white sanctum of classic cinema–especially anything starring the beautiful Gene Tierney–to the roiling and rumbling of twenty-first-century Dublin. At twenty-four, Charles aims to resurrect the lost lifestyle of the aristocratic country gentleman–contemplative walks, an ever-replenished drink, and afternoons filled with canapés as prepared by the Bosnian housekeeper, Mrs. P. But Charles’s cozy existence is about to face a serious shake-up. His sister, Bel, an aspiring actress and hopeless romantic, has brought to Amaurot her most recent–and to Charles’s mind, most ill-advised–boyfriend. Frank is hulking and round, and resembles nothing so much as a large dresser, probably a Swedish one. He bets on greyhounds and talks endlessly of brawls and pubs in an accent that brings tears to Charles’s eyes. And, most suspiciously, his entrance into the Hythlodays’ lives just happens to coincide with the disappearance of an ever-increasing number of household antiques and baubles. Soon, Charles and Bel discover that missing heirlooms are the least of their worries; they are simply not as rich as they have always believed. With the family fortune teetering in the balance, Charles must do something he swore he would never do: get a job. Booted into the mean streets of Dublin, he is as unprepared for real life as Frank would be for a cotillion. And it turns out that real life is a tad unprepared for Charles, as well.

This rigorous explanation of plasmas is relevant to diverse plasma applications. More thorough than previous texts, it exploits new powerful techniques to develop deeper insights into plasma behavior. Written for advanced students, it explores a host of essential and advanced topics while emphasizing the fundamentals that apply to all plasmas.

It is one of the great ironies of literary history that the author of arguably the world''s bestselling work of fiction remains little known. This book seeks to redress the balance and to articulate a new vision of Bram Stoker, relating the creator to his most famous creation. Paul Murray has examined important primary sources, such as Stoker''s working notes for DRACULA, and his extensive correspondence, which shed an entirely new light on Stoker''s life. He places Stoker in the context of Victorian Ireland and the literary and theatrical circles in which he moved. Bram Stoker was immersed in the Dublin literary scene and was involved with the great theatrical, literary and artistic figures of the day such as Sarah Bernhardt, Ellen Terry, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Tennyson and Whistler. His most important relationship, however, was with Henry Irving, with whom he ran the Lyceum Theatre in London. And, as his greatest achievement, DRACULA, Stoker''s enduring work of horror, is placed at the core of this book.This remarkable new biography places Bran Stoker centre-stage in a tradition of Irish horror writing which extends back to authors such as Charles Maturin and Sheridan Le Fanu and which also looks forward to writers such as Neil Jordan and Anne Rice.

"The best biography of Richard III that has been written."—A. L. Rowse, Chicago Tribune Paul Murray Kendall''s masterful account of the life of England''s King Richard III has remained the standard biography of this controversial figure.

A look at the meaning, and the humor, of the Book of Jonah.

Spheromaks are easily formed, self-organized magnetized plasma configurations that have intrigued plasma physicists for over two decades. Sometimes called magnetic vortices, magnetic smoke rings, or plasmoids, spheromaks first attracted attention as a possible controlled thermonuclear plasma confinement scheme, but are now known to have many other applications. This book begins with a review of the basic concepts of magnetohydrodynamics and toroidal magnetic configurations, then provides a detailed exposition of the 3D topological concepts underlying spheromak physics, namely magnetic helicity, Taylor relaxation, force-free equilibria, and tilt stability. It then examines spheromak formation techniques, driven and isolated configurations, dynamo concepts, practical experimental issues, diagnostics, and a number of applications. The book concludes by showing how spheromak ideas are closely related to the physics of solar prominences and interplanetary magnetic clouds.

The author finds that these committees are predominantly influenced by members of research institutions and by the researchers themselves. Yet researchers, and their institutions, stand to gain considerable benefits from the experiments they conduct. Dr McNeill argues that committees of review, as they are presently constituted, cannot be relied on to ensure an equitable balance between the interests of researchers and the interests of the human subjects experimented on. He proposes a radically different rationale and model for committee review.

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) has long been marginalised as a failed Victorian Romantic whose writings on Japan were poetic but inconsequential; as a person, he emerges as a one-dimensional neurotic. In this new study, based on a wealth of hitherto unpublished sources, as well as a fresh reading of Hearn''s writings, Paul Murray reveals a multi-faceted character of considerable depth, intelligence and literary skill. This is a book, therefore, that will appeal on many levels. The story of Hearn''s life makes fascinating reading; his fantastic journey took him from conception outside marriage on a Greek island to a protected upbringing in Dublin; from a Gothic education in England to Cincinnati in the United States where, as Paddy Hearn, he established himself as a journalist of the macabre par excellence. In New Orleans, in the 1860s, he transformed himself into Lafcadio Hearn, litterateur and a man of the South. Finally after two years in the West Indies, he spent the last fourteen years of his life in Japan - arriving in ''the land of the gods'' in the spring of 1890. Although it was always to be an ambiguous relationship with his adopted country, Hearn gave to the world some of the most valuable and enduring insights into Japanese society and culture that continue to stand the test of time. For students of the Anglo-Irish tradition, a little explored strand of Hearn''s heritage, this book is also essential reading, providing substantial insights into Hearn''s mastery of the literary horror genre. Equally, students of Japan will want to understand, for the first time, the make-up and motivation of one of its greatest ever Western interpreters.

''At last, we have a study that tackles these questions, and does so with a wealth of learning, a poet''s sensibility and a thorough theological literacy...Murray has given us a superb study.'' Rowan Williams, Doctrine and Life ''His point of view is always that of someone practised in meditation, and his book is in consequence one of the half-dozen really valuable guides to Eliot''s poetry.'' Stephen Medcalf, Times Literary Supplement The story of the composition of Four Quartets, in relation to mysticism, constitutes one of the most interesting pages in modern literary history. T.S. Eliot drew his inspiration not only from the literature of orthodox Christian mysticism and from a variety of Hindu and Buddhist sources, but also from the literature of the occult, and from several unexpected and so far unacknowledged sources such as the ''mystical'' symbolism of Shakespeare''s later plays and the visionary poetry of Rudyard Kipling. But the primary concern of this study is not with sources as such, nor with an area somewhere behind the work, but rather with that point in Four Quartets where Eliot''s own mystical attitude and his poetry unite and intersect.