I’ve been processing this book for days now, days. Usually I’m on to the next, but “The Bee Sting” is so…loaded I’m yet to move forward. The book is about the Barnes family spiraling from the comparable Joneses, to trying to make ends meet. All taking place in the public eye of their small town. Nothing is as it seems in this foursome, which was formed in unusual, tragic circumstances. This is a must read twice.
Upon finishing you need to go back to catch the clues and foreshadowing. Betrayal, addiction, secrets, lies, double lives, definitely a text meant for schools. The literary techniques only apparent once you’ve reached the end. Brilliant. I’m going to read it again analytically to confirm the conclusion.
Spoilers: ONLY READ IF YOU READ THE BOOK
First off, I had to take a break after Dickie Barnes deflowering. The scenes were so descriptive, sad, and perturbing. Leaving the reader to question if he was raped. What we can confirm is he was physically assaulted immediately afterwards.
The conclusion is in fact conclusive, once you finally overcome the abruptness and shock. “In the next town over a man killed his family.” This is the opening line of the novel. It becomes evident Dickie Barnes does the same. Otherwise the story of the next town over wouldn’t be reiterated throughout. Which aligns with Rose’s predictions that Cass must not come back home, the black dog omen, the dread the kids feel, especially PJ in that final woods scene, Imelda saying she’s trying to get there in time but in time for what? As she’s stuck in the mud with an eye injury in the rain, trying to find Dickie. She also remembers what saved their family the first time was Cass. The way she reminisces seems like another foreshadowing of her family’s demise.
While Dickie and Imelda are allowed to finish their final sentences, Cass and PJ are not, their last words before being shot “—”. Also it closes on Dickies last words about doing this for love, when his sentence prior was “You remind yourself why you’re doing this.”
In the same paragraph of the opening, they question why the man would kill his family. Imagining the secrets, files on his computer, pressure he was under, then we’re given the answer through the unraveling of the Barnes family. Also Imelda’s father put a curse on her, stating she’d lose everything.
Not to mention the climate change and bee symbolism. The pesticides used to protect plants end up killing bees, who return to find their entire colony dead. Which is what ends up happening to Imelda. Paralleling the tale of the man who parties with the fairies and finds the world he knew is gone. With entire decades passing by. Side note: it’s very clear from Augustina the maid taking off by herself in Big Mike’s car, Big Mike and Ryszard kill each other. Solving Dickie’s problem. Adding to the reoccurring theme that when Dickie is true to himself things work out. When he’s pressured into other people’s expectations, things fall apart. He’s not a killer and didn’t want to shoot Ryszard, but lets Victor bully him into it. Resulting in his family’s death. Be true to you, live your dreams, stand up for yourself is what I took from this. That’s the only life worth living. Via: Bookshop