The Bee Sting

 

This novel by Paul Murray tells the story of a well to do family in a small town in Ireland who have fallen on rough times when the car dealership that has been their source of wealth starts losing money during the recession. The family consists of Dickie Barnes who runs the business, his beautiful wife Imelda, their daughter Cassie who is awaiting her acceptance to Trinity College and their 12-year-old son who is bewildered by the acrimony engulfing his family. It’s a long novel that takes an eternity to unfold with frequent flashbacks. None of the characters are what they initially appear to be and new characters are introduced at regular intervals to make things even more confusing. No one is happy. Everyone is scared. People do things they regret. The last part of the book builds slowly to what we are sure will be a conflagration. I enjoyed many parts of the story but, at 700 pages, The Bee Sting was too long and I found the ending to be unsatisfactory.

(This book was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize)