Paul Murray The Bee Sting 2023 Hamish Hamilton 2023

Synopsis

<p><b>'A tragicomic triumph. You won't read a sadder, truer, funnier novel this year' <i>Guardian</i></b> <p><b><i>'</i>It's a thing of beauty, a novel that will fill your heart' <i>Observer</i></b> <p><b>Irresistibly funny, wise and thought-provoking, <i>The Bee Sting </i>is </b><b>a tour de force about family, fortune, and the struggle to be a good person when the world is falling apart . . .</b> <p>The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under - but rather than face the music, he's spending his days in the woods, building an apocalypse-proof bunker with a renegade handyman. His wife Imelda is selling off her jewellery on eBay while their teenage daughter Cass, formerly top of her class, seems determined to binge-drink her way to her final exams. And twelve-year-old PJ is putting the final touches to his grand plan to run away from home. <p>Where did it all go wrong? A patch of ice on the tarmac, a casual favour to a charming stranger, a bee caught beneath a bridal veil - can a single moment of bad luck change the direction of a life? And if the story has already been written - is there still time to find a happy ending?</p>