A review by blueberryhotel
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i feel like the only person who wasn’t head over heels obsessed with this book but idk something about the writing style didn’t always work for me. sometimes it read as cheeky/fun, other times it verged on YA. i thought it presented some really interesting perspectives on trauma and “healing” in a very non-traditional sense; for the most part the characters were rejecting psychiatric/therapeutic models that have become ubiquitous through watered-down mental health awareness graphics on instagram or whatever. that said i did find it somewhat hard to connect with the characters. i appreciate an unlikeable/super flawed narrator, but the characters almost felt like caricatures beyond the point of enjoyment and understanding. and the plot was also very out there, almost absurdist. idk, it was still pretty solid and there were a few chunks that struck me better than others re: prose, but it just wasn’t totally for me