It took forever to listen to the Audible Book. It was very long. More importantly, I may have listened to it for nothing. This was (I thought) a book club recommendation for the Fall. I may have gotten the title wrong. I listened to The Bee Sting by Paul Murray and maybe I should have been listening to The Bees by Laline Paull.
Anyway, The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is a page turner. Can I say that about an audible book? There were many times when I arrived home and just sat in the car listening to the end of the chapter (I listen in the car.)
The time is pretty current, with cell phones and digital games. The setting is Ireland. The protagonists are the Barnes. The family, thanks to the grandfather is well off. They owned car dealerships. We meet the family: Dickie is the father, Imelda is the mother, Cass is the teenaged daughter-with all her teenage angst, and lastly is P.J., a twelve year old digital gamer. There's also Elaine-Cass' best friend, Frank who was Imelda's fiance and Dickie's brother, who died in a car accident. The grandfather is Morris. Big Mike is Elaine's father.
The action starts when there's a financial down-slide and the car dealerships lose money. Dickie eventually loses the dealerships. Morris comes in to save what he can and puts Big Mike in charge.
There is sex intertwined in the story. I'm not very good in writing sex scenes, nor describing them, but the sex will surprise the reader. Throughout the story, we learn what is going on with each character. The character heads each chapter. Their problems are recognizable. The reader will groan, even laugh, because they're so normal. All the characters come together in the last chapter for a surprise ending.
What drove me crazy is that the characters never opened themselves up to each other. They talk but not soul talk. No one knew what the other was going through. Unfortunately, that can happen in real life, too.
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