A big, meaty family story packed with incident and feeling. I've been knocked out with COVID this week and something like The Bee Sting was exactly what I needed. Alternating POVs from each member of the family with steadily smaller and smaller chonks for each of them. The audiobook really made this a seamless and unputdownable experience. Shades of A Little Life, I Know This Much Is True, that kinda thing, so BE WARNED. My BOTY.

The Bee Sting is a story that we use to gloss over the most important thing in our lives, which we will never ever talk about. ( )

I am conflicted about this book. There are passages that are exquisitely written and there are pages that are left me wanting to speed read to get past them.

It takes place in a small town near Dublin where Dickie (what grown man goes by Dickie?) and Imelda are raising their two children, Cass and PJ. Their biological families are as far removed from each other as possible - Imelda grew up in a hardscrabble existence with a short-tempered father and a slew of brutish brothers. Dickie is from a relatively well-to-do family with a younger brother, Frank. Frank is the family's shining star and celebrated in their town for his athletic prowess and charisma. Dickie is, by comparison, dull and studious. When Frank and Imelda fall in love, it is a perfect blend of her beauty and his status. After an unthinkable tragedy, Imelda is bereft and turns to Dickie for solace. Thus, their future is ordained. Dickie is now the heir apparent to his father's successful car dealership, and Imelda is happily buying whatever she wants.

In this book, secrets abound, and Dickie's is at the forefront. His days as a student at Trinity are never far from his thoughts as the dealership struggles and his attention is focused on creating a survival bunker. Cass heads to Trinity as a student where her secrets are unearthed. PJ is left virtually on his own to aid in building the bunker while his parents are oblivious to him.

The conclusion is startling, leaving us to wonder what happened. It is a very long book with no seeming resolutions. ( )

Nope. DNF this one. Absolutely nothing could draw me back to this book after a month of trying to read it. Young high school girls, dis functional family has been done far more interestingly elsewhere. Good writing, bad story and plot. And, talk about too long! ( )

This was one wild ride. I don't read much fiction, and I don't ever remember reading a 650 page work of fiction, but I did this time. Took a bit to get used to the back and forth, in and out of each character's conscience, but I found a rhythm after about 50 pages. Takes place in Ireland in the early 21st century, a modern tale of family and financial intrigues complete with all of the politically correct themes. I liked the writing and the characterization, but the overall arc of the story was a bit much and seemed to lack logic in places. Several parts of the story were introduced and then not resolved, and I personally found the ending unsatisfying. Still, I gave it four stars. Maybe it should have been 3.5 or so, but again I will emphasize that I do not read much fiction. ( )