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The Bee Sting  By  cover art

The Bee Sting

By: Paul Murray
Narrated by: Heather O’Sullivan, Barry Fitzgerald, Beau Holland, Ciaran O'Brien, Lisa Caruccio Came
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Publisher's summary

Shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize

From the author of Skippy Dies comes Paul Murray's The Bee Sting, an irresistibly funny, wise, and thought-provoking tour de force about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart.

The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie’s once-lucrative car business is going under—but Dickie is spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife, Imelda, is selling off her jewelry on eBay and half-heartedly dodging the attention of fast-talking cattle farmer Big Mike, while their teenage daughter, Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge drink her way through her final exams. As for twelve-year-old PJ, he’s on the brink of running away.

If you wanted to change this story, how far back would you have to go? To the infamous bee sting that ruined Imelda’s wedding day? To the car crash one year before Cass was born? All the way back to Dickie at ten years old, standing in the summer garden with his father, learning how to be a real man?

The Bee Sting, Paul Murray’s exuberantly entertaining new novel, is a tour de force: a portrait of postcrash Ireland, a tragicomic family saga, and a dazzling story about the struggle to be good at the end of the world.

©2023 Paul Murray (P)2023 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about The Bee Sting

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning reminder of our humanness

Gorgeous performances of a brilliant story, brimming with distinct voices, heartaches and secrets. Threaded with loneliness and drenched in shame and the lengths we’ll go to avoid being seen. Oh, and the fallibility of parenting, the trauma we being to our children, the losses they shoulder from our pasts, the crisis of our planet and crisis of our hearts. Worth every second. A big reminder to speak your truth and love your children.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Wonderful writing. Tough storyline

I had trouble with zero redeeming characters (Save perhaps PJ). I kept going thinking there would be something to take with me at the end but I didn’t walk away with anything other than pity for all of them.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nothing moves a person like great literature.

I read this as a combo alongside the text. Loved the narration. It took me longer as a result, but was worth it.

This story is so layered. So intense. So deeply moving.

I could see myself in each character in some way… that’s the hallmark of great literature- it highlights universal themes.

Amazing narration.
Well flushed out executed story.

Just phenomenal.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

How long it took for the tide to turn in the story

The end , so much detail in the beginning, but the ending was so abrupt, I expected a little bit more

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Frustrating

My stress level rose each time I listened to another chapter of this lengthy book. I looked forward to being done with it, but when the end came, I swore out loud. What a disappointment. It's as though the author couldn't figure out how to wrap it up and just quit.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Who am I in this story?

Cliff hanger.
I need soooo much more information. If words on paper are to evoke, Paul did his job well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Couldn’t stop listening and was excited to start a new each day. So well written

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Really good characters. Liked the mix.

I was riveted. I really liked the way they were all interlinked at the end, but….. what on earth happened? Didn’t get it . Suddenly the narrative stopped. Don’t mind musings, but enquiring minds want to know….. It was an exercise in human misery, I desperately wanted something good to happen to someone…. Still I recommend it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Long and rambling

Characters are well done, but the story jumps all over among them and back and forth in time. I stuck with it and felt cheated by the lack of resolution at the end.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Disappointing Ending

I really enjoyed this book, but the ending felt almost unfair after the amount of time I invested in listening.

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