A review by manikahemmerixh
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

3.25

This book in undeniably creatively written and composed in a way that I found compelling. I'm not always a fan of books that offer multiple POVs, but in the case of The Bee Sting, each character has a voice that is so distinct, it doesn't feel like a waste to give all four of the Barnes family members dedicated portions of the novel. It's long though, and it feels long. Some parts are slow, there are also moments of social commentary as "part of the story" that didn't fit in for me. The last 200 or so pages build and unravel pretty well, but lead (like most reviewers have mentioned) to a fairly ambiguous ending that I haven't fully decided how I feel about. I'm giving it a middle of the road rating because I don't feel that I enjoyed the content immensely, and yet at the same time found the style of writing coupled with the complexity of the characters too well done not to acknowledge. 

+: unique stylistic choices, flushed out characters (like truly being inside of their head), some memorable & thought provoking moments, well executed tension

-: poorly disguised (if meant to be disguised at all?) social commentary, ending provides questions not answers, stream of consciousness writing took some getting used to