Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - The Bee Sting

Family sagas are my jam and so The Bee Sting was destined to be enjoyable for me. Set in a small Irish town, we follow the Barnes family. One time minor celebs of the town due to them running the local care dealership and repair shop, the recession is starting to disrupt their lives and sends the family into a tailspin.

We have Cass, a teenage overachiever in thrall to her best friend Elaine even where this may lead her astray; PJ, her younger brother who finds more comfort in online communities than in person; Imelda, their mother desperate for a life unlike the one she had growing up and Dickie, their father whose secrets will soon pitch them all into disaster.

Paul Murray did an excellent job of crafting characters that felt entirely believable, especially his teenage characters who were complicated, and likeable and unlikeable all at once. I found the mirroring of the past throughout the novel to be really interesting - we see our young people coming dangerously close to repeating the mistakes of their parents, and then maybe not. The setting that the novel takes place in also again felt very well drawn - I really got a sense of the place and the community through the (many) pages of this book.

It is a bit of a brick of a novel, and there were definitely times were it felt like the text could have been trimmed without losing any of the nuances of the novel; we spend perhaps too much time in flashbacks when he point of the sequences had already been very well established. However, I was engaged enough with the characters that I didn't want to put the book down. The ending is ambiguous, if that's something that is a dealbreaker, but it did make me say 'oh my God' out loud. Really enjoyed.

Content Warnings

regina_184's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

This book was very unique both in terms of the plot and the method of switching narrator.

The book follows a family and each member of the family gets their own section of the book, so we hear all their perspectives on the same topics and situations. Although there are some common themes it is difficult to really pin down what the plot is, as every character is experiencing life so differently. That being said, the main topics the characters explore are sexuality, marriage, climate change, financial problems, aduse, alcohol, loneliness, adultery, and friendship.

I truly loved the ending as it shows how 1 side character ends up being the focal point of the book, however the cliffhanger at the end left me wanting more!

Overall really enjoyed the last 200 pages because all the details revealed at the start finally started making sense. However the first 400 pages can be a little slow since the main conflict of the book doesn't get revealed untill the last 200 pages. Additionally the speed of the plot starts of slow and rapidly increases overtime, so the book became more enjoyable when the speed increased.

Overall I would recommend this book, since it was interesting for me to read about marriage and parenthood from the adults perspective. I am in my mid twenties so I found this perspective unique since I have not lived through this and rarely read about it.

Content Warnings

lindsaygray21's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

danpeachey's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

nreyno's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never read a book more deserving of 5 stars.

Content Warnings

amberjelfs's review against another edition

Go to review page

reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

26 HOURS OF LISTENING FOR THAT ENDING?

This was my first audiobook set in Western Europe - I was happy to hear various narrators with accents that properly represented the characters. Great switch ups between characters to build up the story and develop how they’ve reached where they currently are and the entanglement of all the characters.

However, I found that the ending fell short for such a long read.

Content Warnings

ariannabis26's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

earnest_hemming's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Complex and ambiguous read, covering a wide range of topics, relationships, and povs. I heard many good things about the book but felt as though it was very long for the developments it covers. Interesting description of characters and family tragedies with a very complicated ending.

A little unsure as to why the two non-Irish characters ended up being the main villains in the story.

Content Warnings

More...