The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is a BFB – literally, being 643 pages, and metaphorically in the sense of how deeply the author takes us into the characters of an Irish family in a small town whose prosperous life falls apart due to an economic depression and the unraveling of their own inner lives which, themselves, have tragic origins. Some reviewers call it “rollicking” and a “tragi-comedy,” but, to me, it’s tragedy all the way, epic and intimate, told by an author who cares about his characters and makes us care about them, too. This novel was nominated for the Booker Prize, which was won by fellow Irish writer Paul Lynch for Prophet Song, but I think The Bee Sting is better. The writing is both “literary” and accessible and of even, high quality throughout. Each family member has a well-developed plot arc strong enough to carry a book of its own. I’d like to see The Bee Sting made into to a multi-season Netflix series. The Washington Post calls it an instant classic:

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is a BFB – literally, being 643 pages, and metaphorically in the sense of how deeply the author takes us into the characters of an Irish family in a small town whose prosperous life falls apart due to an economic depression and the unraveling of their own inner lives which, themselves, have tragic origins. Some reviewers call it “rollicking” and a “tragi-comedy,” but, to me, it’s tragedy all the way, epic and intimate, told by an author who cares about his characters and makes us care about them, too. This novel was nominated for the Booker Prize, which was won by fellow Irish writer Paul Lynch for Prophet Song, but I think The Bee Sting is better. The writing is both “literary” and accessible and of even, high quality throughout. Each family member has a well-developed plot arc strong enough to carry a book of its own. I’d like to see The Bee Sting made into to a multi-season Netflix series. The Washington Post calls it an instant classic:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/08/22/bee-sting-booker-prize-longlist-review