I wanted to love this! I really liked it in the beginning but there were too many POVs that I felt were unnecessary and Imelda’s in particular was difficult to get through. I liked the plot but it definitely felt overly long.

the only way i can put into words how this book made me feel is: the heart's invisible furies by john boyne + armond in white lotus S1. and by that i mean i felt irish and anxious.

this books SLAPS. i read its 700+ pages in 2 days. i wanted to grab every character by the shoulders and tell them to get. a. grip.

the bee sting centers around a nuclear family in modern day ireland. dad is distracting himself with doomsday prep as his business goes under; mom is bitterly reigning in her shopping addiction as she recounts her unpleasant girlhood, daughter is dabbling in binge drinking, questionable men, and arduous friendships in her final year of high school; and son is finalizing his plans to run away from home.

admittedly i avoided starting this novel, in part due to its length but also i just wasn't excited about it. but wow. these people are DISASTERS. the plot constantly thickened. i was panicking on all of their behalf. frankly, i'm obsessed and counting down the days until 8/15 when i can talk about it with all of you. if you don't add this to your "want to read" pile i'm taking it as an affront.

What makes a life? A sense of duty? An obligation to your loved ones? To take the path that has been proscribed for you? Dickie Barnes is the brains of the family, attended college at Trinity. But a tragedy has him setting roots in his hometown, anchored by a miserable marriage. What’s worse, the life he carves for his wife Imelda, is a step up from her childhood. A bee sting is metaphor for the troubles we navigate in life. The novel could use editing in the early chapters but the build-up to the spectacular ending is worth it all.

From the author of Skippy Dies!

A long rollicking and expansive novel of a family of prominence falling in a small town in Ireland. The Bee Sting, is a true look into a flawed family's fall from grace. Each section presents a member's point of view. The portions are layered and layered upon each other, providing more background to the full story.

One thing is for sure, you will never forget the Barnes family. Their fall from grace, is known town wide. What everyone doesn't know is where and how it all went wrong. Delicately balances, perfectly paced, I loved this family and this story and so will you!

If you love your humor dark, love being immersed inside a dysfunctional family, or just want your next read to make you laugh out loud, The Bee Sting is for you! #TheBeeSting #PaulMurray
#farrargiroux

This was great. I loved getting to see things from each family member’s perspective and getting all the backstory that we did for Dickie and Imelda. Covering the lives of all four family members, and in some cases going back decades, it felt like there was a little bit of everything in this book, but it all worked and came together to form their sad, messy lives.

The only thing that I didn’t like was the choice to give Imelda’s parts very limited punctuation. I think it was to help distinguish her parts from the rest and to reflect her character maybe, but I honestly just found it slowed me down while reading her parts. Still loved them though.

The Bee Sting
A Novel
by Paul Murray
family book with Dickie, Imelda, Cass, and PJ . The novel was a good one. Sometimes heartbreaking, full of laughter .and what makes a family in the end. A story with a message,

I LOVED this book. I am a huge fan of Paul Murray and I think this is his best book yet; even better than Skippy Dies. It is heartbreaking in parts but also emotionally uplifting without ever feeling cheap or twee. I was equally interested in all of the sections on Dickie, Imelda, Cass, and PJ and equally invested in all of their storylines, which I think is unusual. This is funny and moving and ahh just so very good.