The Bee Sting

Over my reading life, I've enjoyed a fair number of novels that exceeded 500 pages. But I can readily recall only a handful that held me end-to-end like The Bee Sting (2023). Weeks later, I remain astonished that Paul Murray was able to sustain enough narrative momentum over 643 pages that I was never once out of his spell. His tragi-comic tale of a family trying to find its way is a literary marvel.

"...and she feels a kind of worn relief like they are normal."

Given her dire upbringing, Imelda Barnes has always yearned for a normal life. Her husband Dickie has spent his life struggling trying to land on what is normal, a struggle that intensified the day he and Imelda were married, her face marred by a mysterious bee sting. Their teenage daughter Cassandra envisions normal life as something to be found in Dublin, living with her friend Elaine, far from the small town where both of them have lived since childhood. And twelve-year-old PJ's vision of normal toggles from the virtual world of video games to a texting bond he's formed with someone who wants to show him around Dublin to the bunker he and his father - along with a cranky survivalist - are building in a clearing on the Barnes's property. 

I offer that taste hoping it might tempt some reader(s) to try the full meal. If you do, please remember to check back in with me when you finish. I sincerely want to hear your thoughts about this book.

In the meanwhile, tell me this: What was the last novel of over 500 pages you finished that held you like The Bee Sting held me? 

p.s. Thank you to Ann Patchett - via her weekly podcast - for directing me to this winner.