Včelí bodnutí – Murray Paul (2025)

The Barnes family is in trouble. Dickie's once profitable car business is failing, and while his wife frantically sells her jewelry on eBay, he is busy building a bunker in the woods. Meanwhile, daughter Cass is grappling with almost all the demons of adolescence, and her younger brother is sinking into a black hole of the internet...
Where did it all go wrong? How to cope with difficulties whose causes lie deep in the past? How much longer will it take for the Barneses to admit the truth? And if the story has already been written, is there still a chance for a happy ending?
Bee Sting 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 also brilliantly capturing the fragility and subtlety of family relationships, love, loss, and the search for hope in dark times. The narrative, initially flowing at the pace of dripping honey, relentlessly leads us to a gripping finale through the alternation of narrative voices and perspectives. A bee sting is not only painful but also self-destructive.
The novel has been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. - It is published with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the Literature Ireland program.