Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Big Swiss

Major Saltburn vibes. Unlikeable characters, well-crafted satiric dialogues, dark themes, rich/poor kind of situation. Honestly I can compare these two pieces of art forever because to me they’re practically an adaptations of each other.
Overall, I enjoyed this book but I wish it was more disturbing in an unhinged way. The premise is cool but it’s not as big on the plot as I expected, the side events were more alarming.
Also, the ending didn’t feel like an actual ending to me because the pace didn’t changed throughout the book. I expected to feel closure of some sort but I only knew it was the end after I read “the end”.
Thought it’d be more eccentric but that’s fine too.

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plumdustsuns's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

0.25

😭😭 the plot was so all over the place and everything was so racist. I need to stop listening to online book recommendations/buying them because the book has queer content.
There was no linear string of concentration. Went from flavia’s trauma to random affair to Greta’s random descent into jealousy without showing that she had a tendency to be as much and that her mom was the same way. The blasé way of ‘I didn’t care that my mother offed herself’ in the last therapy session versus her using and being bogged down and sad by this trauma was not only conflicting but distasteful. Also Om randomly caring about her when she’s just his transcriptionist and his care/their friendship not even being handled before?? It’s not plausible/would have made for a better plot line and betrayal and made sense when he offered her sessions if they were friends or friendly. He said ‘Lmao’ when she said her house was cold and rain was coming in. And he suddenly cares?
And Keith was made out to be such a big deal and the stalker narrative and it barely did anything/added anything into the story? It wasn’t even resolved in the end properly?
Greta saying she had been SA’ed but it never coming up for her own intimacy issues? And it was just an offhand mention??
Also racist humour and just… so much wrong with this book, man. And how Flavia reacts to/keeps coming back to Greta doesn’t quite make sense. Also Greta gaslighting Flavia that adultery was worse than what she did? No???
Absolute fucking disappointment. Just a lazy and unfocused book.

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allythegingy's review against another edition

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dark funny 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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lolabecool's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.75

It was a captivating read, I wanted to keep reading it. I didn’t feel particularly connected with any of the characters, but I found their backstories interesting and I wanted to know how each of their stories would end. I didn’t want to form my own character psychoanalysis until the book revealed its own first for me to bounce off of . And now, thinking about it, I do feel compelled to form my own, so there’s that— if you’re into psychology/sociology you might enjoy this and possibly think about it after you’ve finished it. But there also isn’t enough information to go on for a long time.

The romance is sapphic, which is historically fun for me, however I didn’t think it was particularly immersive. I didn’t really care if they “worked out” or not. I would have liked to be a little more emotionally invested.

The format really helped keep the story going— the recordings are in a different font.

Overall, it helped get me out of a reading slump, so very readable, but not super filling.

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