A review by bookworme
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

challenging dark funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked the play with distance and over proximity I felt with all the characters, main and even the eccentric background ones.  I connected to all the very visceral details that made Greta and Big Swiss’s relationship a delightful and confusing retreat: the association of popsicles and sweets with their time spent together walking the dogs, the fluctuating temperature of Greta’s room, forcing proximity via the flower picture.. The morally grey, sticky relationship that ensnares both Big Swiss and Greta felt like savoring a guilty pleasure that I knew would not last. I appreciated the format, which let me feel like a fly on the wall eavesdropping through therapy session transcripts. The back and forth conversation heavy format made the book’s pacing easy to digest. I gobbled this up. 
+ I also delighted in the more descriptive passages, especially  anything to do with the house! Great house details that made me think of setting-as-a-character: the bees in the kitchen walls, the closet turned makeshift bed, the old windows, the pasture and mini donkeys. I could go on, but I truly do think the physical space is related to emotional space, and it was interesting when they chose to cross that line together. The physical role of Greta’s house/work correlates to her emotion/mental state, which is either a catalyst or paralyzing.
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