Fazzer A. asked:

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Emma Gwynne

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Trevor Bond

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)[The author leaves us to create our own interpretation, but he also gives us clues that might be helpful. PJ, Cass and Dickie each have fond memories of the favorite childhood game in the woods during which Dickie would pursue them as the hunter while they were the squirrels ("The hunter is coming," page 26). In the game, the children always outwit the hunter by calling to each other- "grey squirrel, red squirrel" and climbing into a tree, then jumping down on Dickie and overpowering him. Late in the story, Dickie recalls, "You were the hunter who would always be foiled. They'd knock you to the ground, pile onto you. We're killing you! Cass would yell, her brother squeaking in echo, Killing! And you would roll and roar upon the forest floor, and think what a wonderful way that would be to die" (page 602).

This theme of narrow escape from the hunter reappears at several key moments, including Cass's first encounter with Ryczard: when he leans in to kiss her, she thinks "The hunter is coming" (page 60). So too does her father- at first- elude the hunter Ryzcard's initial attempt at seduction: "the boy's eyes flashed across the desk to him with a strange expression, at once piercing and pliant, like a hunter intent on surrendering to his prey" (page 452). And Imelda too has her narrow escape from Ryzcard in the garage.

With these scenes in mind, I thought it significant that Cass's final action in the story, moments after PJ hears "a click from somewhere," is to call out: "Grey squirrel!" which was the old code word for "hide from the hunter!" This takes place in the moment before Dickie appears resigned to pulling the trigger. So, in my mind, PJ (who we know has a sixth sense about danger) and Cass instinctively move apart just before the shot comes. Easy to imagine he'd miss: Dickie is not an experienced shooter; it was never assured that he'd hit his targets even when they were lit by thermal imaging.

With this ending in mind, I now imagine a family which at least has a chance to heal. Big Mike and Ryszard have killed each other (which is how Augustine is able to flee the scene in Mike's car, with his cash in her pocket, and without Ryszard). So now the threat of blackmail has been eliminated, as has the threat of Imelda being drawn into a tawdry affair with silver-tongued Big Mike. Cass has freed herself from her obsession with Elaine and started down the path of a more healthy relationship with Merle. PJ is older and wiser having escaped the clutches of "Ethan," and rescued Dickie from his Pet Cemetary alter-ego. Dickie will finally have to confront his demons and a new future. It won't be easy or pretty, but each character has achieved a degree of wisdom and even some hope. (hide spoiler)]

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But_i_thought_

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Aoife Cassidy McM

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Adam Dunn Like the discussion of climate change throughout the book, we can know we are on the wrong path, doing the wrong thing, and still be unable, literally, to let our foot off the gas pedal.

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Theresa Pollara

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Liz Uhlmann

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Rana Darbyshire

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Rose Great discussions, love reading everyone interpretations.

Another aspect of this book that hasn’t been mentioned is the title. Only in the very last part of the book is it revealed that there was no bee sting. This is a cover story for a much more shocking truth; Imelda’s father physically abused her (by hitting her in the face with a beer can, with his likely intention to kill her if fate hadn’t intervened) on the way to her wedding day. All the way through the public display of the wedding Imelda keeps her father’s secret and maintains the cover story. Afterwards Dickie and Imelda both keep this story for the rest of their marriage (eg when one of their kids asks why there are no wedding photos Dickie says it was due to a bee sting). The reader is kept from this little shock wave of truth until nearing the very end.

The fact the author chooses to call the book by a ruse seems significant to me.

Even though, as a previous critic has said, a theme of this book was near misses. There is also a theme of horrific truths (forewarnings about climate change eg persistent floods and droughts cutting off the grid, pesticides that destroy bees memories, the kiddy fiddler, child abuse, male rape, a man who killed his whole family etc). Is the ending another horrific truth?

I think there is enough evidence, themes and narratives in this book to conclude it could equally be another near miss or that it could go completely and most horrifically wrong. If you asked the author I think he would say something to this effect. I think he purposely set it so it’s really goddarn ambiguous.

What an unsettling conclusion to the neat little ending we are always used to. Not an easy read by any stretch and one that definitely hangs around. I won’t be passing on this book to a friend. Rather, leave it in my local book swap library for some other poor unsuspecting stranger.

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Sarah Schultz

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Penny Jackson

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Chris Liberty Don't worry about PJ and Cass because not even a Navy Seal could make that shot in a driving rainstorm with a rifle and night vision scope purchased on the Internet and not sighted in.

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Rob Meyer I don’t think you can read too much into the call backs of red and grey squirrels, the wedding day etc. These just serve to add tension and create anxiety for the reader that someone is going to be accidentally shot. I think the most likely ending would be somewhat anti climatic. If anything, perhaps that’s what can be read into the ending being left open. The most likely ending being Dickie (knowing what he know about his timidity) wouldn’t bring himself to fire a gun at someone, in the dark with poor visibility. He would have talked himself out of it for those and other reasons. Even if he did manage to fire off a sot, the likelihood of him hitting anyone has to be very small. It’s dark. The rain is pelting down. He is somewhat delirious and he isn’t exactly a practiced marksman. Any suggestion that he may purposefully have shot at someone he knew to be a family member has to be the least likely scenario. As for Frank, I don’t think he would have shot at anyone, having seen two people. The puzzle for me is what happened with Big Mike and Ryszard. How does this left open serve the ending?

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Sarah

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Ellie

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Bruce Eckert

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Julie Klingman Rector

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Rebecca Alex I think the title says it all. A bee will sting when threatened, but will die. So many of the characters in this book hurt other people, thinking to protect themselves and/or their surroundings/hive, but ultimately kill themselves, either literally or figuratively, because of the tangled nets of deception. I think the analogy to climate change, where we can clearly see that we are killing the earth and ourselves and yet cannot stop ourselves, is also part of this theme.

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Bella (Kiki) SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

<spoiler>I think Cass certainly got shot, but I'm not sure about PJ. Cass called out "grey squirrel" to PJ. That was her warning to him that a hunter was in the area. How would she have known that unless she saw someone with a gun, heard a gunshot, or was shot herself? She could have heard Dickie kill himself, of course. However, Murray said the ending has to connect with the beginning, and the beginning says a man killed his family, so I tend to believe both Cass and PJ were killed by Dickie before Dickie shot himself.</spoiler>

I do like some ambiguity in an ending, but not this much. Ruined the book for me.

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