Review by jendaly - The Bee Sting

jendaly 's review for:

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

3.5

dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

While the story meanders (and for me dragged a bit at times), the intertwined emotional journeys of the four different members of a dysfunctional nuclear family in a small Irish town are freight trains of longing, loathing, hope and terror. Murray uses style effectively, telling this story from the POV of four different characters and shifting styles entirely to reflect the internal voice of each. Later as events accelerate, he adopts a more urgent second person for all POVs, and then finally uses rapid fire narrator change-offs to build toward a dramatic crash collision of their respective traumas. Good book if you like dark and twisty family sagas with lots of character exploration.

Content Warnings