Reviews with content warning for Stalking - Big Swiss

Personally did not find this book to be funny. Yes, there were maybe two times I genuinely laughed, but I found it to be much more raw.

This book is a slow plunge into a clear lake that appears refreshingly cold, before you dive in and your breath hitches at the discomfort.

To be succinct: this book takes the course between precontemplation and preparation. The way Jen Beagin curated these characters with such genuine humanity that I forgot I was reading fiction, and honestly divulges into those difficult stages, is art.

I personally found my perspective focusing on the truth of how trauma and unhealthy behaviors snow-ball.

I think it made me uncomfortable because, from an objective/reader's point of view, I was experiencing second-hand ""embarassment"" for lack of better words.
The awareness of how such trauma operates on internal and external levels, from a healed place, was uncomfortable in the way working out or stretching is.

Utterly: this book was human and I found it to be more compelling to think than to laugh.

Content Warnings

aisya_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I can never explain why I love this book. Maybe the humour, maybe the wild stuff that is happening in the story, maybe in the way author writes how trauma is being viewed differently by each individuals and how grief isn't the same for everyone. I could imagine how this book could be an eye-opener for some people.

Content Warnings

glitterdeww's review

Go to review page

challenging dark funny 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

4.25

Just about everything in this book is an A+, and I need to give it all that credit up front. The plot setup of Big Swiss is brilliant. An emotionally immature woman in her 40s has on a whim, uprooted her life, moved in to a friend's 300 year old dilapidated farm house in a small New York town, started a job as a transcriptionist to a sex therapist, and became infatuated with a client that she hears through the recordings. I see why this is supposed to be an HBO series (if they just get a move on, already). You look at that cover, and you know this is going to be an unhinged, horny, and hilarious novel, and it sure holds up on each of those aspects.

Pairing with the "bigness" of the title, there is certainly a BIG messy energy all throughout this book. Each one of these characters put out an intense but yet imaginable chaos. I feel like I have seen versions of these people in the wild. They are exceptionally written.

Speaking of messy, Big Swiss is also a great depiction of unreliable narrators. Jen Beagin uses transcripts from those aforementioned therapy sessions AND the POV's unhinged internal monologue to show how memories and storytelling aren't dependable from person to person.

Now all that said, are there things in this book that simply aren't for me? Yes, 100%, and that will bring down my rating a smidge. Because reviewing IS a subjective activity, no matter how you come at it. The POV character of Greta... I wanted to. Throw. Her. Off. A. Bridge. 🤣. Goddamnit lol I ended up pushing through some parts quickly because I just couldn't personally stand her actions anymore. I could never be her friend, Sabine is a saint, and Big Swiss needs even more therapy. So again, the characters in this book DO get 5 stars, because she's supposed to be the pitiful, gross, traumatized, selfish mess that she is. I believe that is entirely on purpose, so well done... But I still didn't *enjoy* wanting to smack her so much.

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Craft: 4.5

Engagement: 4

SPARK: 3

Content Warnings

ella_bibliophile_98's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Loved this book - favourite of this year - a great mix of
Humour, emotion, wit and beautiful descriptions - I liked the mix of transcription dialogue and real dialogue, the characterisation felt very natural and the story was a good pace, it didn’t drag too much.

I like how it explored the complicated nature of the human experience and the need to feel wanted and loved, and how our trauma follows us even when we don’t want it to, and the barriers we put up to protect ourselves. The way it dealt with sexuality, age, mental illness and self improvement was interesting too.

I liked the quirkiness of the town and the characters

Content Warnings

readingbrb's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

More...