Reviews

An ode to what-ifs

Paul Murray's behemoth "The Bee Sting" spanning 656 pages is a family saga. Narrated through the perspective of 4 family members - Dickie, Imelda, Cass and PJ; it speaks on how they traverse grief, marriage, sexuality, love and loyalty.

Dickie, the father is running his family's car business and is struggling with his sexuality and inability to keep the sinking business afloat.

Imelda, the mother who has been previously in love with Dickie's brother Frank who is now dead, struggles to make peace with her past and tries vehemently to connect with her daughter.

Cass, the eldest daughter is constantly trying to impress her best friend and goes on a spree of drinks and parties.

PJ, the youngest son is neglected by the family while they swim in their own woes and has made an online friend.

The story is narrated in an unconventional manner, it flows and ebbs through the stream of consciousness of the charecters. You very often come across chapters that are unpunctuated and is simply a collection of words that pass through the head of our charecter. Despite this you feel a deep sense of empathy and understanding for each of the charecters amidst their flaws and you start rooting for them to find peace and eventually eachother. However, I wish that the ending was not as ambiguous as it was because reading a huge book like this, you would expect to have some answers by the end of it.

boundtwobooks's review

Go to review page

funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

megmoos's review

Go to review page

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Every time the POV changed I was disappointed to be leaving that character, but the next one was always just as incredible. Such a twisty upsetting dark web of family and shame and love. Needed to meditate after finishing.