life just came at you like a gang of lads getting out of a van
Apologies that this discussion is long overdue and maybe you’ve already forgotten this book. While I find it in some ways unforgettable, ADHD gifts me with the desire to / compels me to reread the same books and rewatch the same films, often in preference to seeing or reading new things. It’s always almost like I’m experiencing them for the first time, even if – as with All About Eve, Singin in the Rain, Blade Runner 2049, and others – I’ve seen them umpteen times. I say this to express my gratitude for our little book club, as it pushes me to try new things.
With The Bee Sting, oddly, I felt like I’d encountered it before even though I never had. It was like slipping on a comfortable old shoe, even though there are bits that really pinched. Perhaps it’s because I have relatives whose motor vehicle business crashed.
I’ve seen Paul Murray described as Ireland’s Jonathan Frantzen, but consider that an insult. The family dynamics, sure, and the ‘here’s a family representing an era’ side of it. And I’ll be honest, I don’t usually enjoy novels about family dynamics, nor those about romantic relationships. The odd exception, maybe, like Atonement. The ones by Kate Atkinson, yes, but there’s often a supernatural twist and that’s what keeps me in.
But Murray’s writing is entirely missing the forcefield of self-satisfaction emanating from Frantzen’s works for me, even though it would be entirely justified. Gorgeously constructed, deeply sad, incredibly funny, and devilishly plotted, this novel makes me want to read Murray’s earlier book Skippy Dies. I really appreciate the thoughtful use of climate change as a plot device and driver. And I have a weird hunger for apocalyptic fiction – there’s just enough of a serving of it here to keep me happy.
As book reviewers go, considering I’ve been a voracious reader for 55 of my 58 years, my system is pretty basic and reductive. A bit like Siskel and Ebert with their thumbs-up-or-down film reviews. Would I read The Bee Sting again, as if I’d never read it before? Yes. Absolutely yes. What do you think of it?
Yes with my bird brain it’s too late now to remember too much detail but have to concur with all Vicki shares above. And of course being from an Irish family and some experience of small town Ireland it all rang so true and familiar with all that entails. These really well drawn personalities and their trials and feelings were superbly portrayed. Thanks for bringing it to us Rachel. Started The Queen of Stone Island last night so hope we discuss this before I’ve forgotten it.
I made so many notes of things I loved in this book: PJ (everything about him, and oh how his bloody socks ripped my heart), the description of lady poets writing poems like metal claws (not lace doilies), and the low refrain about how we're always trying to buy the right mask to belong--even though we're born with nothing and are considered perfect. I didn't much care for the lack of punctuation in Imelda's chapters. When she was at the height of her angst it made sense and gave her narration a breathless, stressed, rushing-to-get-through-the-latest-horror feeling. Maybe more effective if it had been used more judiciously? This line of hers was one that made me stop and sit up: “Isn’t it crazy how the same things come back and back just pulled out of shape”. Yes, it's crazy. What a book. Just thinking about it now makes me feel the need for more oxygen. I never would have found The Bee Sting without our book club, and I'm grateful to you for bringing it to my attention.
Oh! And oh my god when Aunt Rose says, "Skirls."