The brilliant first novel by the author of The Bee StingAcclaimed as one of the funniest and most assured debuts 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 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.''Hilarious, rich and satisfying'' The Times Literary Supplement''Comedy of the highest calibre and a good, fast-paced yarn. An excellent read'' Sunday Tribune''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