Welcome to Litsy!

The writing here is fabulous - SO readable, SO engaging. It's lively, warm, witty, incisive, kinda enveloping. The plot builds with tremendous force. And how can it all end? All these threads, all the subtle foreshadowing? As a casual reader, I was cross & dissatisfied with the ending - once I'd put my English Lit. graduate head on & cogitated further, I was left stunned. No spoilers, but it is devastating & inevitable & unexpectedly perfect.

Currently devouring this one. It's a proper door-stop of a book, my hand aches holding it! But sometimes I like to ditch the Kindle for the feel of a tree-book (as apposed to an e-book!)

I tried. I made it almost 300 pages — until Imelda‘s section with the run-on sentences and lack of punctuation took me down. It was a valiant effort but I just couldn‘t do it. Moving on.

I did not bail but it was a hard slog reading this book and I did not enjoy it very much. It came out to rapturous reviews and was up for various awards so I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I get why it was nominated as it ticked all typical the boxes it just was not for me. I found it cringy in places and I could not relate to any of the main protagonists. Only my opinion though.

Going to jump in! This has been waiting for me for so long, my Hoarder partner bought it for my birthday last year. Look at those end papers! It was meant to be that I reached for this book - Fall is almost here and these leaves give me that happy mood. 🍂

The compelling and intricate narrative gradually builds layer upon layer, giving different perspectives of overlapping events and gaining pace towards the climax at the end. I was impressed with how convincing each of the very different characters were and the use of second person was intriguing. But for all that, I‘m not sure if I enjoyed the actual story that much. 7/10

Lost interest on this rather quickly…

A fair few unexpected turns in the enjoyable classic family saga. Bit of a brick at nearly 650 pages but I‘m here for it.

The reviews on this are so mixed that it made me so curious! I‘m enjoying the story, so far but this is a long book 😅

i loved parts of this book…but the way he wrote some of the characters made sections hard to read. ending was a cliff hanger - which was good and annoying simultaneously. i have mixed feelings.

In the most part I loved this. Such a sad, messy, heartbreaking story of a family unravelling, and why. Told from 4 different perspectives in turn, you don‘t always get the full story, the closure you want, but I loved the twists and turns on the previous perspectives. Both very easy to read, yet one where you need to keep your wits about you! The final 100 pages or so where the pace really ramps up were brilliant and I really loved the ending.

HMPH.

Overly long and slow buildup and even when it accelerates towards what looks to be (metaphorically) a four lane pile up with a train hurtling through the crash site, it still manages to give us more flashbacks. Still, it pulled me in and it would have been a pick if not for the ending which is an affront to the reader.

Final verdict it‘s been a long read. Maybe too long ( a bit of blah blah ) But it‘s worth reading. I couldn‘t put it down. I did skim some passages that were too hard for me to read … I got the gist of these passages , but didn‘t need the details. Some beautiful writing along the way. I‘m going out on a limb here and saying I felt some writing Shakespearean ( definitely out on a limb here 🙈) an immersive story , engaging ,disturbing , awful, real

On holiday with The Bee Sting. Set in modern small town Ireland. It‘s the layers that are built up upon the characters lives. Told with wit and sadness and awe. Paul Murray is bringing me deeper and deeper into these lives. The past and present fading into each other. Ghosts , histories repeating themselves in little details, or in full blown ways. A disturbing brilliant book. Im not half way yet. But I love it so far. Final review soon 👍🏻❤️

Going away for a few days. These are coming too , also kindle. The Bee Sting will be first up. Of course that could all change 😁

🗺️ Kirkwall, Orkney-Islands (Home of sheep, cows and some puffins)

We went on a biking 🚴‍♀️ tour and had some time in the biggest city, Kirkwall. It was sunny ☀️ and the Scots were very warm & welcoming.

#TheBeeSting didn‘t convince me. The ending was a terrible punch to the gut. #PaulMurray

#holiday #sightseeing #scotland

I hope I‘m packing enough books for my one week journey through Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🫣 📖. I really need a #holiday.

Wow! I now know why everyone is talking about this book! Basically this book is about a family grappling with past events. But it‘s much more than that. It‘s hard to review as it‘s a huge tome with a lot going on. A bit unusual for a Booker prize nominee. Very readable apart from the Imelda chapters with no full stops. I‘m not sure what that was about or why authors do that. I might find out soon as I‘ll be seeing the author at a festival soon!

This is good. But the author buries the interesting stuff about halfway through. And that's too long to wait in a 600+ page book imo. Not actually recommending. If you choose torture, that's on you.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Getting close to finishing my book nemesis. How did a 600+ page book only get interesting at about the 45% mark? I sort of hate this book. But it's also quite good.

Today is National Bring Your Doorstop to Work day so I'm working on my arm muscles as I commute.

That bottom book is my nemesis.

Happy St Patty's Day! 💚☘️💚

This isn't really a holiday I typically celebrate, but I do like to use it as a time to think about some of my favorite Irish authors! James Joyce immediately comes to mind, as well as Tana French and Douglas Stuart. But this year I especially want to highlight Paul Murray, whose work I have completely fallen head over heels in love with over the past few months! 💕📚

Who are some of your favorite Irish authors?

4-27 Feb 24
Despite its almost 500 page length, I finished this quickly. And I was enthralled but ultimately unsatisfied.
Not sure how exactly to describe it. ‘Irish family drama‘ is terribly misleading. Really, it is a book about pretence, hiding one‘s true self and miscommunication. The characters are frustrating and mostly self-absorbed. I did feel sorry for PJ.

Wow just finished this 600+ page wonder and still absorbing all the relationships and … the ending!?! Captivating, going to be an amazing movie. Imelda, Dickie, Frank, the garage, the secrets. Great.

Was this a bit presumptuous? 🤭 I saw that this book was propped up in the new book display during my shift earlier today, and I decided to hype it up a bit for patrons! 💕📚

Reading in the car right now, but not this one anymore! I made it 257 pages in, but just couldn‘t imagine reading another 400 pages. Entirely too long! And what does he have against periods and question marks!? So weird!!

First major bail of the year in the books. 😂😂

4 stars until the ending. Way too long of a book for that kind of ending.

“…progress takes failure and turns it into the future.”

This 642 page book spanning different POVs of an immediate family throughout events and flashbacks sometimes meanders. However, the ending is on point and pulls together seemingly loose ends to make the final 1/4 a wonderful page turner. Developed and flawed characters, a slow burn, and worth the time!

Bleak. One bad decision and consequence after another. Too too long; I suffered through, though, to the bitter ambiguous WTH ending. Listened at 2x speed. People seem to think it brilliant literature but I want a refund. #ToB2024 Book 5 of the year.

This is a well crafted epic about how we cannot outrun our past. It switches narratives styles depending on the perspective and again, cleverly, as the drama intensifies. And despite being over 600 pages, it feels like a faster read than it is. All that said, I think it‘s been a *bit* overhyped. But I definitely liked it enough to check out Skippy Dies.

The opening quote … Hmmmmm I don‘t want to shake with fear 🤪

I really liked most of this book. Seeing each family member‘s story from their own perspective while seeing each then through the eyes of the others was so interesting. On the down side, I found the lack of punctuation for the one character gimmicky and the ending is obnoxious, building up to nothing at all. #tob24

My first 'official' book I'm starting this year! With how much I adored his previous book, Skippy Dies, I'm really really looking forward to losing myself in this one! 🥰📚

People love this book. I just didn‘t take to his 3rd-person interior monologues (or whatever the correct term is). I mean, it wasn‘t hard listening to, but it was hard to rationalize anyone could have this little going in inside their heads. Where is the mystery, or multiple perspectives we all have on everything? Having said all that, it makes for decent listening and he does some very interesting things structurally and thematically.

I‘m 7 and a half hours in. Just 18.5 to go! I‘m into it at the moment, but most of the 1st 7 hours didn‘t grab me. I spent a lot of time listening wondering why everyone was is so clueless. But i‘m carrying on optimistically. #booker2023

@BarbaraBB came through with the alert for the #ToB24 list. I‘ve only read 11 of the 58 😱
These three were already on my list, so I‘m grabbing them from the shelves to take home with me. So convenient working at a library 😆

The Bee Sting is a big, sprawling family epic. It‘s very much Franzen-esque and I know this comparison has been made in so many other reviews but it‘s because it is so apt. It‘s a novel about how you can‘t escape from the past, but that you must reckon with it. Murray develops complex characters, and weaves past and present trauma and turmoil together expertly, in a story that for me, never felt overcooked even though it was long.

I love pretty endpapers 🥰

October #bookspin! I'm excited to see what numbers come up. @TheAromaofBooks

#Booker23 11/13

I managed to finish this one in time for the shortlist too 😅 and I ended up liking it a lot. Yes it‘s way too long and repetitive and there are an awful lot of characters. I was mostly interested in the family: Dickie and Imelda (their back stories are great) and their kids Cass and PJ. Murray knows how to build a story and the ending is bonkers! It all comes together neatly and reminded me of the younger John Irving 😀.

Well, I quite liked this one but what the heck is wrong with everyone at the moment, with these unresolved endings?!

@TrishB had seen a review that said if you can get through the first 560 pages, the last 60 are great. I actually found the last part to be very OTT and I hate a pathetic non-ending. Make a decision for your characters and run with it FFS! (Spoiler below, Trish!)

Granted, it could have been shorter, maybe one character less ⬇️

#WeeklyForecast 38/23

A few more days until the #Booker23 shortlist will be announced. I have these three to read yet but probably won‘t be able to finish them all in time. I am listening to The Bee Sting as well and enjoying it more than I expected. At 70% I have still not bailed!
Both others I started and put away because I wasn‘t in the mood but now there‘s no way out anymore so I am picking up Prophet Song again!

I‘m enjoying this story but I‘m a little unsure of its worthiness for a spot on the Booker Longlist. I still have a fair bit to read so perhaps I‘ll change my mind by the end. 🤷‍♀️

This one from the Booker list just came in at the library - I didn‘t know it was so long! 😮‍💨

650 pages and what am I left with? A dysfunctional family, with each family member intimately detailed as their life falls apart. A book labeled as humorous when, in fact, there was no humor to be found. An ending that is unsatisfactory. It‘s possible I will like it as I look back on it but for now I‘m glad to be done. @TrishB I wish I had followed your lead but I‘m a stickler for being persistent.