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A review by okiecozyreader
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Big Swiss reminded me of Goodnight Beautiful. Both are about a person who overheard (in this case transcribes) psychiatric (here, sexual therapy) sessions and develops thoughts about the clients.
I thought the audiobook was fantastic with 5 narrators. Told from the viewpoint of Greta, who lives with her dog and her friend Sabine in a dilapidated farmhouse in the Catskills. She transcribes sessions from a sex coach, Om, and goes to locations where his clients may hang out and tries to recognize them by their initials. She becomes fascinated by one in particular from Switzerland who she nicknames Big Swiss.
I was fascinated by these interesting characters and curious where the story would go. The last chapter was interesting from Om’s POV? But the very ending ????
LGBTQ bi-sexual main characters
Unreliable narrator
Unlikable characters
Trauma and abuse
Suicide
Read with the Bad Bitch Bookclub and a zoom with the author.
“People age horribly - they suffer strokes, their bodies and brains fall apart, but the male ego, fully intact until the bitter end.” Ch 2
“Greta considered her own behavior among red flags. Her habit was not to ignore them so much as to ingest them.” Ch 4
“… human relationships were pure folly, because nothing was ever perfectly mutual. One person always liked or loved the other person a little more than they were liked or loved. And sometimes it was a lot more and sometimes the tables turned and you found yourself on the other side. But it was never, ever equal. And that was pretty much the only thing you could count on in life. This went for relationships between friends, siblings, lovers, spouses, even parents and their children too.” Ch 18
I thought the audiobook was fantastic with 5 narrators. Told from the viewpoint of Greta, who lives with her dog and her friend Sabine in a dilapidated farmhouse in the Catskills. She transcribes sessions from a sex coach, Om, and goes to locations where his clients may hang out and tries to recognize them by their initials. She becomes fascinated by one in particular from Switzerland who she nicknames Big Swiss.
I was fascinated by these interesting characters and curious where the story would go. The last chapter was interesting from Om’s POV? But the very ending ????
LGBTQ bi-sexual main characters
Unreliable narrator
Unlikable characters
Trauma and abuse
Suicide
Read with the Bad Bitch Bookclub and a zoom with the author.
“People age horribly - they suffer strokes, their bodies and brains fall apart, but the male ego, fully intact until the bitter end.” Ch 2
“Greta considered her own behavior among red flags. Her habit was not to ignore them so much as to ingest them.” Ch 4
“… human relationships were pure folly, because nothing was ever perfectly mutual. One person always liked or loved the other person a little more than they were liked or loved. And sometimes it was a lot more and sometimes the tables turned and you found yourself on the other side. But it was never, ever equal. And that was pretty much the only thing you could count on in life. This went for relationships between friends, siblings, lovers, spouses, even parents and their children too.” Ch 18
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide