Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

137 reviews

theblondemule's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty

lo_ferrara's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

4.5

So dark, weird, strange, enjoyable!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide, Rape, Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

jam_03's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

The themes of this book are so fun to read and very unique. I did enjoy reading the transcripts that Greta was writing. 

I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters, except Piñon, which made it harder for me to want to keep reading. Maybe it just went over my head but I think it's overhyped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Addiction

glitterdeww's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Gore, and Stalking

ella_bibliophile_98's review against another edition

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 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Stalking, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, and Domestic abuse

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

aestinson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent and Animal cruelty

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Addiction

erinmg's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.5

I wasn’t really sure what to expect coming into this novel, but to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed. The characters were definitely interesting and the plot was witty, but I thought it was going to be a lot more wild than it turned out to be. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Infidelity, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Death of parent, Stalking, Sexual content, and Miscarriage

Minor: Cancer and Drug use

lilgriff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Animal cruelty, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Addiction, Suicide, and Stalking

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny, Gore, Miscarriage, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Cancer

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