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A review by daneroberts
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
First off, I’ve been dying to talk about the age gap between the two main characters. I normally love a queer age gap romance plot, I think it’s relatable and messy and complicated and interesting by WHYYY on earth was Greta older than Big Swiss. Literally the implied age from every blurb I read seemed like Greta was younger and Big Swiss was older. Big Swiss is married, has a job, and a nice house in a rich part of New York while Greta is in between jobs and lives with a roommate in a dump, so naturally, I thought it was the other way around. Not the biggest deal but she’s called Big Swiss after all, which didn’t get explained.
What I did enjoy about this book was its absurdity. I felt like this all took place in an unrealistic, somewhat dystopian backdrop of Hudson. The way Beagin sets up her characters and situation seemed fast-paced, crazy kooky, and heightened. It was fun to picture things like that. However, I was not a fan of the seemingly random moments that were added just to be quirky and random and different. Little details that made no sense, and were never called back to like “Big Swiss carried around several condiments in her purse” and “She hated apples with everything in her.” It was just dumb! And a waste a time.
What else was a waste of time was some of the character introductions. Before meeting Big Swiss, Greta explains this whole past memory with waaay too many characters that are barely mentioned ever again. The story really doesn’t pick up until the two women meet and getting through the beginning was taxing.
I’m not mad that I read this book but I feel like I had a very specific idea in my head of what it was going to be and I was pleasantly, and unpleasantly, surprised when it wasn’t.
What I did enjoy about this book was its absurdity. I felt like this all took place in an unrealistic, somewhat dystopian backdrop of Hudson. The way Beagin sets up her characters and situation seemed fast-paced, crazy kooky, and heightened. It was fun to picture things like that. However, I was not a fan of the seemingly random moments that were added just to be quirky and random and different. Little details that made no sense, and were never called back to like “Big Swiss carried around several condiments in her purse” and “She hated apples with everything in her.” It was just dumb! And a waste a time.
What else was a waste of time was some of the character introductions. Before meeting Big Swiss, Greta explains this whole past memory with waaay too many characters that are barely mentioned ever again. The story really doesn’t pick up until the two women meet and getting through the beginning was taxing.
I’m not mad that I read this book but I feel like I had a very specific idea in my head of what it was going to be and I was pleasantly, and unpleasantly, surprised when it wasn’t.