I can’t refuse a book with a bee on the cover. And I love a little fictional drama (don’t you?). So, The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray was an automatic ‘must-read’ for me. Apart from the awards this book won (and the bee on the cover), a phrase from the book blurb caught my attention. “…the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart.”
Book blurb for The Bee Sting
From the author of Skippy Dies comes Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, an irresistibly funny, wise, and thought-provoking tour de force about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart.
The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie’s once-lucrative car business is going under—but Dickie is spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife, Imelda, is selling off her jewelry on eBay and half-heartedly dodging the attention of fast-talking cattle farmer Big Mike, while their teenage daughter, Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge drink her way through her final exams. As for twelve-year-old PJ, he’s on the brink of running away.
If you wanted to change this story, how far back would you have to go? To the infamous bee sting that ruined Imelda’s wedding day? To the car crash one year before Cass was born? All the way back to Dickie at ten years old, standing in the summer garden with his father, learning how to be a real man?
The Bee Sting, Paul Murray’s exuberantly entertaining new novel, is a tour de force: a portrait of postcrash Ireland, a tragicomic family saga, and a dazzling story about the struggle to be good at the end of the world.
It’s Not Easy Being Good . . . Or Green
The struggle to be ‘good.’ Maybe I’m tired, maybe I’m getting old, maybe I’m going through a stage, maybe it’s the weather, but sometimes the struggle to be ‘good’ – a good mother, a good neighbor, a good wife, a good friend….OOF! It’s a lot, isn’t it?
And is being green, a part of being ‘”good?” ‘Cause that’s not easy either!
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray will introduce you to to a family of four, living in the suburbs of Dublin, all struggling to be good (although it’s not always apparent.) If you’re like me, you will become invested in what happens to each character.
Imelda, the mother in the story, did NOT impress me at the start of the book. I found her to be superficial and self-centered. I wasn’t impressed by her ability to find the perfect outfit and was not particularly sympathetic when a change in finances forced her to abandon her compulsive shopping therapy. I was a little disgusted when she began selling unopened items on eBay just to make ends meet.
By the end, and even writing this, I feel ashamed at how I judged her. No spoilers here – you’ll have to read the book to see if you agree with me on this particular character. Whether you get to the end of the rather long novel (656 pages), or not, I’m sure you have had similar real world experiences where you misjudge someone. It’s not easy being good!
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Obviously, as the Queen Bee, I am an environmentalist. I’m willing to take some extra steps to contribute to a better environment and I try to teach my kids to do the same. I loved that Cassie (the daughter) and her dad shared an appreciation for nature; the dad spent time with both of his children in the woods behind their house.
But climate change is introduced into The Bee Sting, even before “the bee sting.” The results of a school science project that Cassie and her father (Dickie) work on together are shocking to both of them. And the challenge to be ‘good’ is so huge, it can’t even be discussed.
The father-daughter project is bee-u-t-full. In a few short sentences the author has you drawn into the passion, dedication, and the special bond between Cassie and her dad. Their bond is strong as they collect data on the environmental impact of carbon emissions resulting from the family car business. But as they calculate the carbon emissions from the car business as a whole? The findings hit them like a lead brick.
Dickie tries to adapt and make changes, but there are many forces against him. The business was failing even before the school project began. Imelda, his wife, blames Dickie and resents him for even attempting to ‘be good’ and sell electric cars.
Dickie retreats into the woods behind their house. Overwhelmed with the pressure, he is found building a bunker with the help of a gun-carrying extremist to keep his family safe during an eventual climate apocalypse. What?! Can you imagine poor Imelda?
Despite being the owner of an established business with a great reputation, Dickie was unable to effect change. It really is not easy being green!
Why Do Honey Bees Sting?
There’s not a lot about bees in this book, despite its title. But as a beekeeper, I certainly was on alert for any reference that would lead me to understand why the author chose his title: “The Bee Sting.”
The first mention of the bee sting is really quite beautiful. Instead of focusing on the fear or panic of a young bride at having a bee stuck inside her veil, Murray (author) focuses on the perspective of the tiny honeybee.
In slow motion (despite how fast you might be reading), you feel the reactions of the bee…unexpectedly caught in a wedding veil while out foraging for the hive, trapped by it’s layers, struggling against the force of gravity and the wind coming through the open car window, desperately trying to escape…before it essentially commits suicide by stinging the bride.
I didn’t exaggerate. Honeybees kill themselves when they sting you. There aren’t many other references to honeybees in the book, so I want you to focus on this…why do honeybees sting?
Honey bees sting to protect the hive from threats. Some threats are easy to identify for them – robber yellow jackets or bears who want to steal their honey, for examples. Others are not so easy to identify, like a gardener who is planting flowers for the bees, but accidentally squeezes a bee when yanking out a weed.
Some people judge the bees. Some people actually HATE the bees. I wish they all knew that this tiny bee may attack something 1000 times it’s size and weight, just to protect their hive.
I want you to remember this one fact about honey bees and to really reflect on it when you get to the last sentence of The Bee Sting. You may not like the ending, but you can’t deny that it’s beautiful.
Final Thoughts
The characters in The Bee Sting were so complex and their struggles were so real, this is a book club discussion book if ever there was one!
One of the characters (Willie) gave a speech on climate change to a college student audience and asked a good question “Why are other people making a difference while others do nothing at all?” My mother always said, “it takes all kinds to make the world,” and while I agree with her, I do wish that all people would do something to make a difference, big or small.
It took a while to sink in – I’ve been thinking about the ending for over a week now – but when it did? When I grasped it in terms of the honeybees that I love…I cried.
Did you read The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray? How sweet of a read did you find it? How many jars of honey would you like to assign it? Comment below!
