Review by annakh16 - The Bee Sting

annakh16 's review for:

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

4.0

dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Gosh, I feel like I’ve spent forever with this. That’s not a negative though. The Bee Sting is a real lesson in empathy that works through some very dark themes through a range of character studies.

There are some sections that feel a bit drawn out (or maybe I just wasn’t as interested in the particular perspectives - e.g. PJ) but overall this is fluently written, with an impressive grip on the different character voices. This includes the audiobook narrators btw, who did a great job.

(At this point, a special shout-out to this book for giving much needed representation to overly blunt, always sweaty German girls with bags so deep your whole arm gets lost in them, who are definitely losers but don’t seem to be aware of it? Merle from Dortmund, I see you!)

The ending was clever in how it tied the many themes and ambiguities of the book together. But also a bit unforgivable (iykyk). I am still unsure how I feel about the switch in genres -

to be honest, the longer I think about it, especially because of the “tragic gay love” trope

. But it’s one to analyse for sure.

Overall, this is a skillfully executed family saga that I would recommend (if you have the time!).

Content Warnings