Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - 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.

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kelsea's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

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

4.25

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aisya_'s review against another edition

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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.

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rahthesungod's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny tense medium-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

4.0

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aheinicke27's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This was a really interesting book. Initially, the hilarious commentary of Greta the main character, drew me in. As the plot unfolded into a somewhat chaotic and disastrous love affair however, I found myself unable to look away. Greta seems to be a fairly unreliable narrator, and as the book progresses, it’s difficult to tell what is real, what is her perception, and whether those two truths overlap if at all. I also felt like the ending of this book was fairly interesting too. It felt like a lot was building only to end on a fairly anticlimactic note. When the book ended, I didn’t believe it at first because it didn’t feel “done” necessarily. I’m still undecided if that is a good thing or a bad thing. This book definitely has a little more of a literary feel to it, which is a lot different from what I’ve been reading lately. Overall I enjoyed it, but I also wouldn’t say it kept me totally enthralled.

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amessina3399's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is pure weird, poetic beauty. The narrator's voice is perfection, and the underlying darkness of the main character is so beautifully present throughout. Definitely one of my new favs!

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