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katerina_l's review against another edition
- 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
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
queenbookbuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Medical trauma
hannahgarstang's review against another edition
The drama and characters are messy as they make lots of bad decisions. These personal flaws matched with an unfiltered sense of humor make them ultimately likeable and relatable.
How people relate to traumatic experiences is explored very thoroughly. It asks questions like how does trauma impact our sense of identity? Should we focus on the future and cleave it away from our personhood, but then potentially dismiss any influence it has had on us leading to unresolved emotional processing and maladpative behaviour? Alternatively do we overly identify with it and use it as an excuse to shirk accountabilty for maladpative coping mechanisms and bad behaviour, using it ultimately as a crutch to become a passive or destructive actor in our own lives?
Or should we all maybe go to therapy and process being alive, accepting that accepting ourselves is a lifelong practice?
After thinking about this all so much it made me reflect on my own relationship with trauma.
Their is also a frankness and sometimes even humor in the way they speak about trauma which felt true to life. Humor is a pretty common way of dealing with the hardest stuff in life.
The rich inner lives of animals in this book is also whimsical and wonderful. Adoration or horror of the local insect and bird population along with miniature donkey anticipation parallel the mental states of our protagonist in a really satisfying way. The house Greta and Sabine live in is also a character in itself.
Finally, I really appreciated the perspective Big Swiss is written from. Adult woman doing gay shit in the woods and bar bathrooms is hard to come by, you know. So with that said, what are you waiting for? Don't Regretta not getting around to this bad Boi!
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Sexual content, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Stalking
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse
sjxa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It handles its difficult themes, well, I wouldn’t say ‘delicately’ so much as thoroughly. It spanks them and sends them home to their mamas. Which I appreciate.
People keep saying that this book is gross, often in good reviews, and I guess it is, but I think really it’s SEXY. It’s ‘gross’ parts are bodily, obsessive, and cosmically kinky.
Greta is completely lovable in her obvious flaws and bad behaviour, and I quickly bacame just as obsessed with Big Swiss as she is. So much so that I was pining for more of her tall blonde coldness in the last act, and as the book ended I didn’t know if I found the ending itself dissapointing for a lack of her, or wether I was just dissapointed that the book was over.
I did actually take a quater of a point off for this. I’m sure something else could’ve been done with that very last leg, but not all books can be perfect.
It’s a completley addicting read with vibrant characters that makes you believe in a more interesting world.
PS: I accidentally fancast La Grande Dame from RPDR France and then UK vs The World as Big Swiss, Kimiko Glenn (who I aged 10 years with the power of my mind) as Greta, and Harriet Walter (-10 years) as Sabine (who I LOVED and kind of want to be when i grow up). These castings would be impossible for obvious reasons but are somehow the only right answer.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Rape
gmariecosta's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Death, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Biphobia and Racism
averyt121's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
pestosito's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Stalking
the_lesbrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
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
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Greta considered her own behaviour around red flags. Her habit was not to ignore them so much as to ingest them, a somewhat laborious mental production that involved placing them in a stockpot with butter, herbs, and mirepoix; cooking over low heat without browning; adding red meat, additional red flags, a jug of red wine; and voilà, four hours at a lazy simmer later, an extremely rich red-flag stew that she forked into her mouth every day like a fucking moron, sometimes for years on end.
Oh no... I hate to do this but I should have seen the signs when in the first few pages we were making horribly racist comments (particularly about Japanese and Chinese people), making fun of anorexics (trigger warnings would have been appreciated) and strangely glamorising suicide.
I had such high expectations for this book! It had so much potential when it came to humorously discussing some very morbid and taboo topics but instead, it turned into a very uncomfortable semi-erotic, semi-thriller novel. It failed at the thrill, it failed at the romance, it failed at the eroticism and it did not even begin the discussion of important topics like relationships, infidelity, suicide, depression, therapy and trauma.
I am not sure I have ever given a book 1 star, but there is a first time for everything and I believe it is well deserved in this case. The 1 star is being awarded solely to the beautiful US cover and its designer; it's the only thing Big Swiss has going for it. I am so incredibly thankful I decided to check this out of the library because I would have probably torn the sex-scene pages out if it were my own copy... they were so unpleasant to read. Not to mention that I am generally fine with erotic scenes! I will never be able to get the image of a slightly moist origami rose between a woman's peach-fuzz-covered legs out of my head. Thank you, Jen Beagin, for making me hate both origami and peaches now (though the latter was ruined by Call Me By Your Name a while ago).
Anyway, I somewhat regret pushing through this sorry excuse for literature, but at least I can confidently say that it sucked and I truly truly TRULY do not understand the hype here... how many trees have been sacrificed for this exactly? I would like to petition for their restoration; they didn't deserve this.
Graphic: Vomit, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Excrement, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Racism, Blood, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Sexism, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Addiction, Suicide, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Death, Cursing, Violence, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
sarahbrowell's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Torture