The Bee Sting (2023) by Irish writer Paul Murray was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2023.

The novel tells the story of the Barnes family which is crumbling because of financial problems and a number of personal crises.

Each of the 4 members of the family talk about what is happening from their perspective.

Teenage daughter Cass who is in the final stages of high schools & goes on an alcohol drinking binge.

12 PJ who spends an inordinate amount of time on the internet.

Mum, Imelda, who is struggling with selling stuff instead of buying it.

And Dad, Dickie, whose car business is failing & who is being blackmailed.

During the sections on Imelda we find out that her father was violent and Imelda’s aunt Rose took the child in for her safety.

“It wasn’t always easy Rose was strict Although she never locked her in her room she always made her go to school do her homework go to bed at half past ten…” (p.201).

After her mother’s death, Imelda stayed on with Rose even though her father was insisting she return home.