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Big Swiss: A Novel

By Jen Beagin

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"Wild...hilarious...so good." --Cosmopolitan, Best Books of the Year * "A laugh-out-loud bad romance for Gen Xers and an ode to misfits who just want to belong." --Oprah Daily * "Always interesting...too fun to stop." --Vanity Fair

"One of the funniest books of the last few years" (Los Angeles Times) about a sex therapist's transcriptionist and her affair with one of the patients.

Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. The house is unrenovated, uninsulated, and full of bees. Greta spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om. She becomes infatuated with his newest client, a repressed married woman she affectionately refers to as Big Swiss.

One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice in town and they quickly become enmeshed. While Big Swiss is unaware Greta has eavesdropped on her most intimate exchanges, Greta has never been more herself with anyone. Her attraction to Big Swiss overrides her guilt, and she'll do anything to sustain the relationship...

"A fantastic, weird-as-hell, super funny novel" (Bustle), Big Swiss is both a love story and a deft examination of infidelity, mental health, sexual stereotypes, and more--from an amazingly talented, singular voice in contemporary fiction.

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352 pages

Average rating: 6.59

300 RATINGS

17 REVIEWS

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gigireadshorror

Nov 26, 2024

4/10 stars

I was so sure I was going to love this book. Women being unhinged is one of my favorite tropes! But I honestly had to force myself to finish this book, it was such a chore. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything that was happening or the characters, everything felt so stiff and the story didn't really make sense to me. Safe to say I will not be reading anything else by Jen Beagin.

rofrancxs08

Oct 06, 2024

10/10 stars

best book I have ever read. deadass.

chel c.

Jul 09, 2024

9/10 stars

Such a weird book in the best way. I’m sure a lot of the symbolism went over my head, but I loved it nonetheless. WNR to anyone with DV or sexual trauma.

MakedaMN

Jul 02, 2024

4/10 stars

The ending of this book was interesting, and helped my overall view of the book. However, it was difficult to connect with the main character. I also found the graphic nature of the book off putting at times. The author’s sense of humor was engaging. In the end it felt mostly like navel gazing, but I can appreciate why some folks really like it.

Joe Broggio

Jun 05, 2024

6/10 stars

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I think it had a lot of characters that were unlikeable - the main character is particularly unsympathetic - and I'm not sure the story ever came together in a cohesive way. Despite that, it was a very well told story in terms of world-building and characterization - I enjoyed reading the actual story about characters I didn't particularly like. I would definitely read more by this author.