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The Bee Sting
- Narrated by: Heather O’Sullivan, Barry Fitzgerald, Beau Holland, Ciaran O'Brien, Lisa Caruccio Came
- Length: 26 hrs and 10 mins
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The Bee Sting
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Summary
The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's car business is going under, but instead of doing anything about it, he's out in the woods preparing for the actual end of the world. Meanwhile his wife Imelda is selling off her jewellery on eBay and half-heartedly dodging the attentions of fast-talking local wrongun Big Mike. Their teenage daughter Cass, usually top of her class, seems determined to drink her way through the whole thing. And twelve year old PJ is spending more and more time on video game forums, where he's met a friendly boy named Ethan who never turns his camera on and wants PJ to run away from home.
Digging down through layers of family history, the roots of this crisis stretch deep into the past. Meanwhile in the present, the fault lines keep spreading, ghosts slipping in through the cracks, and every step brings the Barneses closer to a fatal precipice. When the moment of reckoning finally arrives, all four of them must decide how far they're willing to go to save the family, and whether - if the story's already been written - there's still time to give it a happy ending...
Critic reviews
I experienced just about every possible human emotion while reading The Bee Sting, and at an intensity I have not felt with a work of fiction for a long time. Its ambition and scale are astonishing, and as a sheer technical feat of storytelling it is remarkable. Reading it, I was constantly reminded of what the novel as an artform is capable of, and what it is for. It might be a bold claim to make, of the author of Skippy Dies, that this new book is the best thing Paul Murray has ever done - but I'm making it anyway, because it's true (Mark O'Connell, author of 'To Be A Machine')
This novel is as generous, expansive, and glorious as a cathedral, as intimate as pillow-talk, and as funny and heartbreaking as nothing you've read before. Paul Murray may just be the most spellbinding storyteller writing today. A magisterial piece of work (Neel Mukherjee, author of 'The Lives of Others')
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What listeners say about The Bee Sting
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel
- 25-09-23
I Loved the Ending!
This wonderful book gave me 26 hours of absolute pleasure - the characters, the crazy stories (for there are many here), the performances, the beautiful understanding of Ireland with all her complexity. A stunning work. And the ending was masterful. I am astonished that so many reviewers are annoyed by it, some are downright hostile. Are we babies? Do we need to be spoonfed endings? This is not an account of a true story, we can decide the ending for ourselves, or work it out from previous clues. Life doesn't have endings - although we all die - the story just has dramatic episodes and then continues. I loved the ending - it made me laugh out loud that this wonderful writer had given me so much then left me in the lurch... A joyful, sad, intense, fascinating and profoundly accomplished book.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 27-11-23
Superb
One of my books of the year - sprawling, vivid, laugh out loud funny, heart-breaking.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AM
- 08-03-24
Eh?
Very long. Clever. Many themes. Meandering but I thought it would be worth sticking with it. Excellent writing. Sometimes enjoyable. Sometimes difficult. Occasionally funny. Crescendo does not conclude but leaves you hanging with an abrupt ending that makes you go “Eh??”
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- laura joseph
- 26-03-24
This book is made up of so many great smaller stories that I struggle to pick a favourite!
I thought a 26 hour audio book would take me many many weeks, however this book was difficult to stop listening to!
The book made me experience so different emotions, as well as exploring quite complex and delicate topics. The narrators did a fabulous job at bringing the story to life and I, unlike some of the other reviews I’ve seen on here, really liked the ending; it brought all the characters back together once and for all, uniting their journeys, traumas and futures.
If you want an audiobook that will keep you engaged, only getting more exciting as the story progresses, then I definitely recommend this one!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Carmela
- 27-02-24
Beautifully intense
I rarely leave a review and rarely listen to long books but this one so deserved the booker prize! I enjoyed every single minute of it. It’s amazing how the style radically changes with each narrator. Emotional, intense, full of sadness and gentleness, beautifully written
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-04-24
Absolutely brilliant!
Funny, dark and intriguing. The characterisation was fantastic, I couldn’t stop listening to this. The ending needed some thought, but after reading other people’s thoughts on it, I thought it was very clever.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- louise stephen
- 01-05-24
Best story I’ve read/listened to in years
Fantastically written. Great performances that only enhanced the story. I can’t stop telling people about this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mike
- 08-03-24
What an ending!
Literally brilliant so meaningful and beautiful. Loved every minute and the way the story unfolds is magical leaving you breathless at the end.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- julie
- 16-02-24
Great characters - brilliant!
Loved it! The characters, story, narrative all most engaging…I shall miss not listening to it
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sharon Boles
- 23-10-23
Excellent
Really enjoyed this book. Fabulous story line told with compassion. Highly recommend this book. Really enjoyable read.
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