bonniemonnier's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
readwithcappy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Sexual assault
hngisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Suicide attempt
meganashlee27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Living with a friend in an ancient farmhouse that’s falling apart and inhabited by bees, squirrels, and other guests, Greta spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a local sex therapist. After becoming intrigued by one of his clients, she recognizes her voice at a dog park. Their strange histories and trauma connect them. The problem? Big Swiss is married, and Greta gave her a fake name and didn’t tell her that she’s heard all her deep secrets in her therapy sessions.
This book reminds me of some obscure indie movies of the early 2000s. They were sometimes weird, sometimes brilliant, and if you found a good one you could pretentiously refer to it as your favorite movie. There’s a lot going on in this book. It was sometimes weird, or gross, or eccentric, or heartbreaking. But there were also moments of laughter and pure love that endeared you to the story even more. Some of my favorite parts were the off-handed comments that really had nothing to do with the plot, but instead described the hipsters of the town, the animals, or were even used in a self-deprecating way. Although I never really loved the premise around Greta listening in to the therapy sessions (even though it was her job), the individual characters (and animals) are what held me in.
I also saw that this has already been picked up by HBO, so I’m intrigued to see how that develops!
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Suicide, and Sexual content
kendallreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Injury/injury detail, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
Minor: Stalking
adelineania's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/injury detail, Drug use, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Stalking, Blood, and Mental illness
Minor: Abandonment and Emotional abuse