hughesie's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Outing, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Gun violence and Bullying
katha_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved, how vividly the characters were drawn, how I could relate to them even though i didn't relally like any one of them. The story combines so many themes of growing up, surviving hardships, sexuality, love and you can feel how carefully the story was constructed. It is fascinating how cose and distant a family can be at the same time.
At the same time, getting through the book was hard work: Especially the style in Imelda's part, although fitting, was very hard to read. And the book is pretty long, and while I think I understand the role the family members play, I wonder whether one or two POVs could have been left out.
At the same time, getting through the book was hard work: Especially the style in Imelda's part, although fitting, was very hard to read. And the book is pretty long, and while I think I understand the role the family members play, I wonder whether one or two POVs could have been left out.
Spoiler
After getting through 600 pages, the ending is pretty unsatisfying tbh
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Car accident, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Pregnancy, Animal death, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Self harm, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Vomit, Bullying, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Murder, Outing, and Rape
Minor: Dementia and Cancer
znvisser's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
You know those romcoms where you can't help but shout: 'just communicate with each other!!'? Well, this is the family drama version of that. The Bee Sting follows four family members into each of their owns destruction. Despite starting out with a lot of teenage girl drama, this captured me immediately. For one because I’ve once been a teenage girl with a friend like Elaine - so I immediately hated her guts (in my case tho, I was 5 years younger and there was no crush involved); but secondly, it's the writing that drew me in, and while I usually get annoyed easily by authors skipping quotation marks it took me a while to even notice it here (although it was almost too challenging in the Imelda chapters that just threw all (!) punctuation overboard). I loved looking into the heads of these messy, self-absorbed family members who each had their own problems they kept strictly to themselves. This book is full of messaging and coincidences and parallels, and even though at some point it almost loses track of its characters being too busy with very explicit climate change warnings, it finds its way back to the Barnes family, pushing them towards each other again. These characters are haunted by the past and the flashbacks from Imelda and Dickie are an integral part of their story, if only because it provided insight into how this train wreck of a family was doomed already a generation before them. Because gosh, they were doomed, but if they would have actually talked to each other every once in a while none of them did have to be so terribly lonely throughout it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Police brutality, Rape, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Cancer, Gun violence, and War
ronanmcd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's a book about being human. About being alive, and having faults. It's a book about Ireland, as it is.
It's brilliant. You don't read it but fall in.
Some notes:
It's an indictment of Ireland that when characters are having a conversation, one that doesn't affect the narrative and is in to show their are going about their everyday, it's always about possessions; who has what, who wants what, who's getting this or that. Observed from life, this is how we talk now.
It's brilliant. You don't read it but fall in.
Some notes:
It's an indictment of Ireland that when characters are having a conversation, one that doesn't affect the narrative and is in to show their are going about their everyday, it's always about possessions; who has what, who wants what, who's getting this or that. Observed from life, this is how we talk now.
-
By a certain point the book reflects painfully on the reader. Over time we have begun to identify with the characters, to such a point that we fully agree when one character is being urged to murder. It seems fair, it's logical. This is something that shows just how powerful fiction can be. It's immense.
-
It's such an absolute experience. We become fully engaged with each character. Immersed in the book, it's hard to look away and see real life in front of us and distinguish fact from fiction. It's disorientating. Deeply.
Spoiler
It's all goes very King Lear in the confusion of the crashing rain at the end, typeset as drama. We are left feeling it was foolish ever to be hopeful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Dementia, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, and Pedophilia
deedireads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
Layered, ambitious, and gripping, The Bee Sting is 500 pages of family saga followed by 150 pages of literary thriller that we absolutely need. I hope it wins the Booker!
For you if: You like long books about characters that could step off the page as they break your heart.
FULL REVIEW:
I was excited to read The Bee Sting even before it was longlisted (now shortlisted) for the Booker Prize, thanks to this incredible plug in LitHub’s list of most anticipated 2023 books. While I recognize that this chonker isn’t going to be for everyone, it was absoLUTEly for me.
500 pages of family saga followed by 150 pages of literary thriller, The Bee Sting is layered, ambitious, and gripping. We are introduced to four members of a single family living in rural Ireland in the early 2010s: Cass, in her final days of high school; 12-year-old PJ, brilliant and largely friendless; Imelda, their mother trying to save them from the recession; and Dickie, their father, who makes his living as owner of the local car dealership that was once his father’s. With every person we meet, our understanding of all the secrets and dynamics between them deepens, until all that tension reaches an explosive, dizzying end.
I freakin love a family saga, especially the really well-done kind where the characters tug at me from deep in my gut (as this one does). I’m deeply impressed with how distinct and realistic each character’s voice was, especially the two children; Paul Murray is insanely talented at this part of his craft. I also really loved all the flashbacks, especially in Imelda and Dickie’s sections. I know some reviewers felt a bit whiplashed, but I found so much depth in them. In fact, I think they’re what really give those two characters to us, as readers, and I often didn’t want to return to the present at all. And WHEW, that ending. It took some contemplation for me to feel satisfied by it, but it’s clearly the right ending for this book.
There’s so much to say and unpack here, and a review only has so much space. But I’m so glad that the Booker of the Month book club got to read it together and discuss. I’m rooting for this one to win the Booker!
TL;DR REVIEW:
Layered, ambitious, and gripping, The Bee Sting is 500 pages of family saga followed by 150 pages of literary thriller that we absolutely need. I hope it wins the Booker!
For you if: You like long books about characters that could step off the page as they break your heart.
FULL REVIEW:
I was excited to read The Bee Sting even before it was longlisted (now shortlisted) for the Booker Prize, thanks to this incredible plug in LitHub’s list of most anticipated 2023 books. While I recognize that this chonker isn’t going to be for everyone, it was absoLUTEly for me.
500 pages of family saga followed by 150 pages of literary thriller, The Bee Sting is layered, ambitious, and gripping. We are introduced to four members of a single family living in rural Ireland in the early 2010s: Cass, in her final days of high school; 12-year-old PJ, brilliant and largely friendless; Imelda, their mother trying to save them from the recession; and Dickie, their father, who makes his living as owner of the local car dealership that was once his father’s. With every person we meet, our understanding of all the secrets and dynamics between them deepens, until all that tension reaches an explosive, dizzying end.
I freakin love a family saga, especially the really well-done kind where the characters tug at me from deep in my gut (as this one does). I’m deeply impressed with how distinct and realistic each character’s voice was, especially the two children; Paul Murray is insanely talented at this part of his craft. I also really loved all the flashbacks, especially in Imelda and Dickie’s sections. I know some reviewers felt a bit whiplashed, but I found so much depth in them. In fact, I think they’re what really give those two characters to us, as readers, and I often didn’t want to return to the present at all. And WHEW, that ending. It took some contemplation for me to feel satisfied by it, but it’s clearly the right ending for this book.
There’s so much to say and unpack here, and a review only has so much space. But I’m so glad that the Booker of the Month book club got to read it together and discuss. I’m rooting for this one to win the Booker!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Animal death, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Pedophilia and Classism
reads_eats_explores's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
The Bee Sting opens with a tale of woe, “a man had killed his family” in another town, and “rumours swirled about affairs, addiction, hidden files on his computer.” Are these prophecies of what awaits the Barnes family, our multilayered protagonists?
The Barnes, oh, how can one small family have so many adversities to face? They live in an unnamed small Irish town and are struggling on so many levels; godawful for them but great for the storytelling.
In the wake of a recession, the Volkswagen dealership run by Dickie Barnes has seen sales plummet while also facing a surge in complaints about repair work. Does Dickie know more than he's letting on? In an effort to stick his head in the sand as far as the dubious business at the garage goes, he retreats into himself and the woodlands behind their house, where he attempts to create a ‘safe zone’ where they'll be safe when not if the shit hits the fan.
A disgruntled client’s son threatens to beat Dickie’s boy, PJ, with a hammer. PJ sinks deeper into loneliness and online gaming forums, where he gets befriended by a profile that reeks of malevolence.
PJ's sister, Cass, flounders with her capricious best friend, peer pressure, leaving cert stress and the demon drink.
Their mother, Imelda, bears the brunt of the neighbours’ schadenfreude. She stops her beloved online shopping (her one true joy) and worries that she has somehow caused this rake load of trouble through a family curse.
Told through these multiple points of view in chapters narrated by each character, we get the modern day tale with plenty of historical flashbacks thrown in.
These flashbacks mostly reveal the poverty and old passions that shade Dickie and Imelda’s rather uneasy marriage.
All the characters are well developed and paint their own grim picture, but for me, Imelda’s sections are the stand out highlights. They are structured in the stream-of-consciousness style that really draws you in, from her early years of violence and poverty down “piggery lane” to her current predicament.
In this tragicomic behemoth read, Murray shows a great talent for blending humour and pathos. Yes, we trudge from bad to worse, with Murray tirelessly concocting fresh anguish for the Barneses, but there's a good dose of quintessentially Irish humour along the way. 4.5⭐
Many thanks to Penguin Books Ireland for an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
The Barnes, oh, how can one small family have so many adversities to face? They live in an unnamed small Irish town and are struggling on so many levels; godawful for them but great for the storytelling.
In the wake of a recession, the Volkswagen dealership run by Dickie Barnes has seen sales plummet while also facing a surge in complaints about repair work. Does Dickie know more than he's letting on? In an effort to stick his head in the sand as far as the dubious business at the garage goes, he retreats into himself and the woodlands behind their house, where he attempts to create a ‘safe zone’ where they'll be safe when not if the shit hits the fan.
A disgruntled client’s son threatens to beat Dickie’s boy, PJ, with a hammer. PJ sinks deeper into loneliness and online gaming forums, where he gets befriended by a profile that reeks of malevolence.
PJ's sister, Cass, flounders with her capricious best friend, peer pressure, leaving cert stress and the demon drink.
Their mother, Imelda, bears the brunt of the neighbours’ schadenfreude. She stops her beloved online shopping (her one true joy) and worries that she has somehow caused this rake load of trouble through a family curse.
Told through these multiple points of view in chapters narrated by each character, we get the modern day tale with plenty of historical flashbacks thrown in.
These flashbacks mostly reveal the poverty and old passions that shade Dickie and Imelda’s rather uneasy marriage.
All the characters are well developed and paint their own grim picture, but for me, Imelda’s sections are the stand out highlights. They are structured in the stream-of-consciousness style that really draws you in, from her early years of violence and poverty down “piggery lane” to her current predicament.
In this tragicomic behemoth read, Murray shows a great talent for blending humour and pathos. Yes, we trudge from bad to worse, with Murray tirelessly concocting fresh anguish for the Barneses, but there's a good dose of quintessentially Irish humour along the way. 4.5⭐
Many thanks to Penguin Books Ireland for an advance copy. As always, this is an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Gore, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Stalking, Biphobia, Homophobia, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Sexism, Classism, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape
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