When things go wrong for Dickie Barnes in The Bee Sting by Paul Murray, they occur in seemingly slow motion yet the ensuing chaos is still surprising. What catches readers off guard is the number of lies the characters tell not only to one another but also to themselves.
The plot, told in the present and past, follows Dickie; his wife Imelda; daughter Cass; son PJ; and older brother Frankie. Dickie is in a downward spiral. His once-successful car business is falling apart and his family isn’t doing so well either. Reverting to their histories is significant: at which point did things go amiss?
Frankie, the small town’s popular football star, and Imelda were engaged. Dickie was always in his older brother’s shadow and left for Dublin to study at university to one day take over their father’s car business.
The author blends humor and pathos. How Dickie and Imelda came to be married and the bee sting (the title source) that forced her to wear her veil throughout the day of their wedding are major elements; as is the impact of their unraveling marriage on their children. These are main threads of this lengthy book– which at times is long-winded and other times impossible to put down.
Without revealing the ending, it’s necessary to note it is one of the most cinematic, edge-of-your-seat conclusions. It’s fraught with danger, fear and love … just like the rest of the book. However, it takes a long time to reach this point.
The Bee Sting
Four Bookmarks
Paul Murray
645 pages
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023
The Blue Page Special 
Leave a comment