A perfect book for Wes Anderson fans with a delectable deadpan delivery of all lines. This book—definitely not for everyone—is a bit boorish and ridiculous at times, but it’s also pretty funny. I laughed a lot: Om, the sex therapist, or more likely, faux therapist; Greta and her witty monologues and over-the-top situations; all the crazy transcripts from Om’s patients. While it was something I laughed out loud through, it’s also a story where I didn’t really care about the characters, which made the second half feel a bit like trudging uphill. ( )

This book was like a car crash. The main character and actually all the characters were extremely unlikable, but I couldn't look away. It was super weird and kind of enthralling, that being said I'm not sure if it was... good? I didn't get anything from it and it was just kind of a dumpster fire even if it was entertaining at times. I'm not really sure it had anything "to say." There were a lot of interesting details and it felt very contemporary but I don't think I would say that I really liked it so overall I guess it was fine and I think I WOULD read more books like this but something about this book just.. didn't quite get there for me as much as I love chaos. It was just kind of trashy and kind of gross, but just to be clear, I ALSO wouldn't say it was bad. I did want to keep reading the whole time. I was invested. The ending was kind of meh for me though. For how drawn out the rest was, the last few chapters felt very abrupt. ( )

One unique novel. About things like suicide and an affair and traumatic assaults, but also very funny in its own way. Set in upstate New York with memorable characters. ***** ( )

I wonder how many reviewers have used the word quirky or a synonym to describe this book. It is witty, it is a romance but mixed up in all of that is trauma, lots of trauma, an enormous hive of bees, dogs and some minature donkeys. I have seen the front cover all over the place and often wondered why it had a dog with his tongue sticking out towards another's mouth - well it's probably to reflect all the oral sex that is described in the book and a whole lot politer than putting labia shaped 'like a lotus flower' on it.

Greta (or Rebekah) has moved to Hudson 'where the horny go to die' and is living in a ramshackle but wonderful, old house that is cold and has a large bee hive on the ceiling in the kitchen. She has taken a job transcribing sessions that a local therapist holds who is known as Om. It means she knows everyone's secrets and can also, when she is out and about, identify people through recognising their voices. She regularly transcribes the sessions of someone she calls Big Swiss and eventually becomes obsessed with her. They meet because of their dogs and eventually have an affair but it is shadowed by their trauma. Big Swiss from being attacked by a man and only just surviving and Greta from her mother's suicide. There is also Sabine who owns the old house who has to go into rehab for her drug habit. So here we have three women who have been traumatised in one way or another but who deal with it in different ways; one is open about it and tells other people, one is so ashamed that she has treatment without telling anyone else and the other doesn't really realise that she is traumatised.

Whilst there is very dark side to this book, it is also about healing. About the unconditional love of animals and what they can do to help, about friendships and about facing up to your problems and dealing with them.

The best characters in the book are females with the men often being 2 dimensional. There is Sabine's father who is ancient but makes a pass at Greta.

Yes, people age horribly. They suffer strokes. Their bodies and brains fall apart. But the male ego? Firmly intact until the bitter end.
p42

There is the violent man, Luke the husband who is a nonentity and Gideon the beekeeper in his simple clothing and with his kind nature. And there is Om wearing 'a white fishnet tank top, a chunky cardigan, and white harem pants'. The women, however are complex, witty, fighters who keep on going and who are not always predictable. They are described clearly, both physically and emotionally with rich inner lives and none of the women see themselves as victims.

The book is also a commentary or side swipe at therapy culture and whether that heals or not. I'm not sure it does anything for Big Swiss, it might help Greta but Beagin does seem to suggest that you can go on and have a life and love after trauma. But what is is about all the insects? ( )

This book made me laugh out loud so many times. It is also dark and sad, but mostly it's funny. I was ready to give it five stars, but the ending was a bit of a letdown. I think that's where literary fiction often lets me down. There can be a great premise (unhinged woman hooks up with a married patient whose therapy sessions she is transcribing) and great execution (as I said, laughs galore), but then the story peters out. It feels a bit like season one of a show -- I want to know what Greta does next (lucky for me, I hear the book is being adapted for HBO).

If you like the idea of listening in on people's most private weirdnesses you should read this.

A few random notes:

A pet is injured, which feels traumatic. I would recommend this book to my friend who loves Gilmore Girls because I thought Greta had Lorelai energy (if GG were on HBO?), but this friend would never read a book where a dog gets hurt.

There are also a lot of bugs in this book: bees, stinkbugs, ants, spiders, etc. Extremely unpleasant to imagine, but definitely drives home how unlivable Sabine's house is.

The author photo includes a donkey (is it a miniature donkey?) and she lives in Hudson which leads me to believe this is semi-autobiographical.

Jodie Comer will probably play Flavia in the TV show. I am fan-casting Lizzy Caplan as Greta, though Jen Beagin said she liked Aubrey Plaza in an interview.

( )

It has been some time since I read a book that was at once so consistently laugh-out-loud funny and, at the same time, poignant and moving. For all the sense from the initial set-up that you think you know where it's going, you don't. A good summer read! ( )

This book is quite unlike anything else I've read. The main character Greta made me laugh a lot and also aggravated me on so many occasions, but I found that I rooted for her until the end. Her obsession with Flavia aka Big Swiss that develops from transcribing her very confidential therapy sessions is bonkers and that they actually meet and have this crazy affair is even more wild. All in all though, this was less about two people hooking up and more about the why behind their attraction to each other. Each of them are running from trauma and it was interesting to see how things played out. Cynical, funny and pretty darn cold at times, Big Swiss has great characters and the local flavor of Hudson, NY was a trip for me too. ( )

I enjoyed the characters on their own, but they didn't really make sense together here. This was very funny, but I think I would have liked more subterfuge and less bad chemistry. ( )

This book feels like a fever dream. It's so good. Top 10 of this year for sure. ( )

Greta has floated through life being feckless. She's worked a series of menial jobs and lived with whomever took her in. Now she's forty-five and living in a very old farmhouse owned by a weed dealer in Hudson, New York. She's found a job transcribing the one-on-one sessions run by a sketchy sex therapist and becomes fascinated by one women she names Big Swiss. Hudson is small enough that she eventually runs into Big Swiss and begins using her knowledge of her to strike up first a friendship and then a relationship.

Jen Beagin's novel spends a lot of time parodying a certain kind of people and creating bizarre situations. It's humorous at times, but often the humor feels forced to me. In this kind of book, it's important to not question or look too closely at a lot of plot devices and details, but eventually the number of times I was pulled out of the story because a scene or character was so over the top I couldn't accept it as part of the world of the story. I think that there is certainly an enthusiastic audience for this form of storytelling, but for me, much of it felt forced. I kept expecting each wacky thing to be integral to the plot or to point to something in the story, but each wacky thing was just wacky for the sake of being wacky. The parts sometimes were good, occasionally even very good, but it all added up to something that was decidedly not for me. ( )

I read a review of Big Swiss and thought it sounded unique and interesting. It was also laugh out loud funny. I read so many books and I’m always looking for something that’s a little bit different in style, plot or character development. This book accomplishes all three of these things. Loved the narrative interspersed with the transcription. The plot was a somewhat LBGTQ focused and was relationship based with a lot of interesting characters. A quick funny read. ( )

watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@starkissedstories

The writing is fab - the story is unhinged and weird as.
Definitely was not cheering for the romance - both of them need to work on their issues.
But the characters were varied and had unique voices, the house was a character in and of itself.
The book did meander a bit and the ending was like. wtf?
But I would read more from this author. ( )

Quite a quirky but ultimately enjoyable book. Transcribing therapy sessions - what job could be more interesting! And the town is small, so Greta, the transcriber, recognizes the voice of one of Om's (the very odd therapist) patients, and they end up in an obsessive affair. Lots of bugs and an old house and some miniature donkeys - not a deep book, not really humorous at least for me, but much fun to read. ( )

I read this book as an electronic advance reading copy provided by Edelweiss, and I have submitted my comments to the publisher via that web site.

This author's previous book, Vacuum in the Dark, is one of my all time favorites, and I am beyond pleased to report that her new book is even better! She has a gift for pairing disturbing or disgusting situations (in this case, like in her other books, suicide is a main theme--also there are a lot of bugs) with absurd humor. Her characters are hurt, and hurt others, but they are also hilarious. Highly recommended for all libraries. ( )