Včelí bodnutí

The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once-lucrative car business is going under, and while his wife frantically sells her jewelry on eBay, he devotes himself to building a bunker in the woods. Meanwhile, their daughter Cass struggles with all the demons of adolescence, and her younger brother sinks into the black hole of the internet...
Where did it all go wrong? How can they cope with difficulties whose causes lie deep in the past? How long will it take before the Barnes family can admit the truth? And if the story has already been written, is there still a chance for a happy ending?
The Sting of the Bee is the magnum opus of contemporary Irish writer Paul Murray. With a humorous and sarcastic tone, the author explores themes such as identity crisis and loss of illusions, while at the same time masterfully capturing the fragility and subtlety of family relationships, love, loss, and the search for hope in dark times. The narrative, which initially flows at the pace of dripping honey, leads us inexorably to a thrilling finale thanks to the alternation of narrative voices and perspectives. A bee sting is not only painful, but also self-destructive.
The novel was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. – Published with the support of the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Literature Ireland program.