This book is over 600 pages, but it’s the easiest 600 pages I’ve ever read. The pages practically turn themselves. I’ve heard it said that Murray could have achieved what “The Bee Sting” has in less pages, but personally I thoroughly enjoyed the time and effort put into character development. By the end of the book, I really felt as though I had connected in some way to all the narrators and really understood and empathised with each perspective which, for me, is a sign of masterful storytelling. The other thing I really loved about this book was that it explores the surprising complexities of seemingly ordinary, everyday themes including family, relationships, growing up and financial struggles. Things that could so easily apply to us all, at least on a surface level. But, as Murray gradually peels back each layer of complexity and builds suspense in a real crescendoing fashion, we are ultimately reminded that not everything is what it seems. It’s a treat to read and I’d strongly recommend it!

Am really impressed by how expansive this book is and how Paul Murray is able to convincingly write as a young boy, teenage girl and middle aged parents. The story served as an interesting insight into rural Irish life as well as the secrets people keep that ultimately destroy them.

This is a truly fantastic read. All of the characters are utterly gripping and it flows beautifully. By the time I got to the end I just wanted a sequel! I’m bereft.

I spent much of my time reading The Bee Sting clutching my head in my hands as one of its painfully realistic protagonists made yet another awful and often relatable decision, dragging each of them down a little deeper into a ditch you can't quite believe goes down so far. Just when you think they've struck bedrock, they keep on digging. Paul Murray's prose is excellent, hilarious and effortless, and there were many moments within his plot that had me gasping aloud at the minute attention to his character's details and actions. He trusts his reader to make connections which appear as naturally as in real life, and never patronises you by explaining anything outright. (I almost worry that I may have missed countless references in, say, page 500 to something that was mentioned on page 5). But when you do notice these connections, they're incredible powerful. The dark humour here for me was one of its biggest draws - again written with such ease as to be envious. There were many lines I insisted on reading out loud to whoever happened to be there. Overall, a brilliantly conceived novel that has as much sting as it does heart. I would recommend to anyone looking for a solidly good read, but brace yourself...

I've been waxing lyrical about The Bee Sting to anyone who will listen since I read it earlier this year. What starts as an ostensibly straightforward portrait of an affluent family struggling in the wake of the financial crash takes you to places you will never have expected to go. Murray lulls you into a false sense of security with his sharply witty prose, before pulling the rug from underneath you with the sad, dark history of the Barnes family. It's a long book, but beautifully and tightly plotted, with seemingly incidental details in the first half taking on a stark, sometimes frightening relevance as you become further immersed in the characters' world. I read the last hundred pages in one sitting, desperate to know how Murray would pull the interweaving strands of the story together. I can't recommend it highly enough.