The 2023 Man Booker may have gone to another Paul, but our bets were firmly on Paul Murray’s the The Bee Sting.

As the Barnes family faces financial ruin, parents Dickie and Imelda withdraw from life and each other. Children PJ and Elaine are desperately alone in their teenage angst. The setting is Ireland, around the time of the GFC.

The Bee Sting is a tragic story, yet Murray manages to make it marvellously funny. He intricately excavates the inner world of each family member, each with a wildly different perspective on the situation in which they find themselves. His handling of the strange paradigms of family life are full of humanity and warmth. An unforgettable novel exploring the gulf’s that seperate and the ties that bind.

The Bee Sting was shortlisted for the 2023 Man Booker Prize.

Paul Murray is the author of three other novels; An Evening of Long Goodbyes, Skippy Dies  and The Mark and the Void, all of which have been critically acclaimed.

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