Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

28 reviews

cspa's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I had heard great things about this book and have recently been drawn to complex female characters, particularly of the unhinged variety. I thought it would be a perfect match, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. The passion seemed lacking, and the character dynamics felt flat. Despite the characters expressing desire, as a reader, I struggled to sense it. The cozy moments felt more awkward than a cat trying to swim, and the intimate scenes were anything but, which made it challenging to believe the characters genuinely cared for each other even a little bit. The narrative leaned heavily on telling rather than showing, leaving interactions unexplored and reactions unexpressed. Though I would actively avoid these characters in real life - finding them quite irritating - I’ve managed to love books with unlikeable characters in the past, this one, however, will not be added to that list.

When I initially grabbed this book, the summary on the back cover intrigued me: a sex therapist's transcriptionist crosses ethical boundaries by engaging in an affair with a client... talk about drama! While there were some amusing moments, they weren't sufficient for me to classify it as a humorous read. I was looking forward to seeing therapeutic interactions that could offer a deeper understanding of the characters' challenges. However, it did not meet my expectations in that regard either...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Torture

Moderate: Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty

jourdanicus's review against another edition

funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Funny. Beyond me in some ways but then maybe not so much if I don't overthink it. I almost didn't like this one because Greta is written so well as an unlikeable character... But there's still a lot about her with which to sympathize.

In hindsight the characters and writing style remind me of Ottessa Moshfegh's novels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Drug use

Minor: Lesbophobia, Addiction, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

katerina_l's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Excrement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Infidelity, Misogyny, Drug use, Body shaming, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Stalking, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body horror, and Sexual harassment

daphnemarie's review against another edition

dark funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Infidelity, and Gaslighting

Minor: Addiction

hazel_oat's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Sexual content, Body horror, Gun violence, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Addiction, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Body shaming

Minor: Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, and Gore

the_lesbrarian's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicide, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Grief, Violence, Animal death, Death, and Abandonment

cigarete_smoke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, and Drug abuse

Minor: Eating disorder, Vomit, and Adult/minor relationship

ksamaine95's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Oddly Entertaining. Fairly hyped. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Death, Suicide, Stalking, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Cursing, Mental illness, Gun violence, and Drug use

baileyk113's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

357 pages

This was a very weird read but also very funny. I enjoyed the humor being used to breakup some of the darker matters of the book. I found it very interesting to read a queer journey in the mind of a 45-year-old lady (usually I read these types of books from a younger person’s pov), but I really enjoyed it because we got to reflect with her on all the things that happened in her life when she felt repressed. Just felt like there was a lot of Greta spiraling that was somewhat hard to follow.

Also, so glad Piñon was safe after he was shot. I would’ve DNF’d the book if that wasn’t the case lmao.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Gun violence

joensign's review against another edition

dark emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Violence, Mental illness, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent