Bookseller Reviews
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A truly entertaining ride through one family’s ups and many downs.
Oh my goodness, what a journey this book is — an incredible, all-encompassing, engrossing journey, full of mistakes, regrets, bad choices, and a family spi... READ MORE
A Surprising Read
Paul Murray's 'The Bee Sting' had me sceptical in the beginning... the character's were wholly unlikeable (if not melodramatic - yes Cass Barnes I'm lookin... READ MORE
A staggering family epic
The Bee Sting is the story of the Barnes family in Midlands Ireland after the economic crash of 2008. Dickie, the father, runs a garage, once successful an... READ MORE
My favourite book of the year
Stayed up late to finish reading this one. I don't have the words to describe what an amazing book it is. The end has truly floored me. I need to talk abou... READ MORE
Oh My God, The Ending
Stayed up late to finish reading this tonight. I don't have the words to describe what an amazing book it is. The end has truly floored me. I need to talk ... READ MORE
Brace yourself!
Here are my immediate thoughts after just finishing The Bee Sting, such a powerful book that I felt almost as though I had been stung by a bee at the end! ... READ MORE
One of the greatest books I've ever read
I've been waxing lyrical about The Bee Sting to anyone who will listen since I read it earlier this year.
What starts as an ostensibly straightforward p... READ MORE
Worth the commitment!
Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy to our store! I haven't read a fiction book this long in many years, and it felt like quite a daunting undertaki... READ MORE
A worryingly relatable, tragi-comic, spiralling anxiety trip
I spent much of my time reading The Bee Sting clutching my head in my hands as one of its painfully realistic protagonists made yet another awful and often... READ MORE
A true testament to the power of a writer in keeping a reader's heart right to the end.
Paul Murray is a wordsmith and has a subtle and powerful magic in how he concocts the most flawed, frustrating, bewildering and yet utterly wonderful chara... READ MORE
Messy, untidy and brilliant
I think this can only be described as a Tour de Force. A chunky read, certainly, but so worthwhile. At its centre is a story of an Irish family slowly disi... READ MORE
Masterpiece
The most technically brilliant book I have ever read. If you are a writer you must read this. A masterclass of character, empathy building and resonance. I... READ MORE
You will be googling afterwards
A remarkably clever novel completely deserving of all its accolades! As the pieces of the puzzle come together through the multi character narratives, you ... READ MORE
Maybe the best thing I'll ever read
It is my greatest joy in the world to recommend this book to everybody. To customers, to my friends and family, and to you! Paul Murray does the most amazi... READ MORE
Synopsis
The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under - but rather than face the music, he's spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman.
His wife Imelda is selling off her jewellery on eBay while their teenage daughter Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge-drink her way to her final exams. And twelve-year-old PJ is putting the final touches to his grand plan to run away from home.
Where did it all go wrong? A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favour to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil - can a single moment of bad luck change the direction of a life? And if the story has already been written - is there still time to find a happy ending?
Publisher information
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
- ISBN: 9780241353950
- Number of pages: 656
- Dimensions: 236 x 154 x 46 mm
- Weight: 800g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allTotally immersive
I really loved this book, which I had as an ARC through netgalley. A complicated slice of dysfunctional family life in Ireland, with flashbacks to past and... READ MORE
highly enjoyable
This reminded me of Jonathan Franzen's excellent 'Crossroads'. It shares that theme of a family at a crisis point and a story told over the course of decad... READ MORE
The Sting of the Tiger
“The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray– a celebrated Irish author, longlisted for this year’s Booker prize – of course I had to read it! Then, being 656 pages, I h... READ MORE
Wonderful book
An absolute delight; such detailed characterisation and a wonderful narrative. Moments of laugh out loud humour. Loved it!
I want more!
This is a truly fantastic read. All of the characters are utterly gripping and it flows beautifully.
By the time I got to the end I just wanted a sequel! ... READ MORE
Great Read
I really enjoyed the thoughtful portrayal of each of the characters in this book. Each of the characters were interwoven showing motivations and reasons fo... READ MORE
Brilliant brilliant brilliant
This book is masterful. As a long book with multiple narratives and scarce punctuation, it seems from the outside it could be a challenging read, but not a... READ MORE
Staggering
Staggering in size, scope and accomplishment. It is worth every minute spent on it.
Anthisan required
This was a lot of pages for very little.
I found that the writing was so painfully and pointlessly artfully punctuated, that I was wincing with discomfo... READ MORE
In short: joyous
Let's be quick, yes? Everyone's reviewed and loved this book, and for damn good reason. I've struggled with literary fiction, on and off, over the last dec... READ MORE
Magnificient
I did not enjoy the first quarter of the book - the characters annoyed me at first - when I got to see them in the now. Why couldn't they just TELL the tru... READ MORE
600 pages but feels like 200 (in the best way).
This book is over 600 pages, but it’s the easiest 600 pages I’ve ever read. The pages practically turn themselves. I’ve heard it said that Murray could hav... READ MORE
Epic
This is an intimate, skillfully crafted and funny epic of a book.
It tells the story of a family in Ireland who suffer financial loss following the econ... READ MORE
An epic
Am really impressed by how expansive this book is and how Paul Murray is able to convincingly write as a young boy, teenage girl and middle aged parents. T... READ MORE
Epic Irish family drama
Paul Murray is able to capture each of the characters so well. Thrilling read as each character has their own secrets. Reminiscent of a Shakespearean trage... READ MORE
A marathon of a book but a sprint of a read!
Discomforting events in the present are decribed from the perspective of experiences from the past. The background of small time and town Ireland breeds an... READ MORE
A superb satire - with a sting
This is the first novel of Paul Murray's that I have read, and it certainly won't be the last.
This is the second large novel I have read in succession, b... READ MORE
A very enjoyable read
Do not let the size of this one put you off. Murray's The Bee Sting is a rewarding read, told from the perspectives of the members of a family. The book is... READ MORE
Page turner
Immersive storyline where you really knew the characters and felt the elation and pain that they went through in their everyday lives.
My one big critici... READ MORE
Brilliant
Top 10 books. Captivating characters and story. Don’t be put off by its length.
Does not live up to what I read in the reviews
Most of the reviews about this book are great. I can see and understand why people liked this book, but personally I did not feel it lived up to the expec... READ MORE
Stung!
Struggled to page 170 and gave up. It was something to do with the lack of punctuation, but that aside I just found it totally uninteresting and predictab... READ MORE
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