I found\u2026meh<\/a>. So when they heartily recommended Big Swiss<\/i> by Jen Beagin I couldn\u2019t be sure I would like it. But it\u2019s a comedy about a relationship that starts at a dog park, so I at least knew dogs would feature heavily. And it would hopefully be a light read. I\u2019d say it achieves those things. And I did like it, though I wouldn\u2019t go so far as love.<\/p>\nBig Swiss<\/i> is sort of a love story, but it\u2019s more about sex than romance. It\u2019s certainly not sweet or romantic. It satirises life in the rich New York town of Hudson. And it\u2019s very funny.<\/p>\n
Greta lives in a falling-apart old farmhouse with her friend Sabine, her dog Pi\u00f1on and a few thousand bees. She works from home transcribing audio of the local sex therapist\u2019s sessions. It\u2019s all supposedly anonymised but in their small community she often recognises the voices of patients. Lately she has become obsessed with the sessions of a new patient she nicknames Big Swiss, a woman who she knows is tall and Swiss.<\/p>\n
When she encounters the real-life Big Swiss at the local dog park Greta really should walk away. After all, she knows an awful lot about this woman\u2019s private life, including some deeply disturbing stuff. But Greta was already on her way to being infatuated before they met. She half-heartedly tries to push Big Swiss away but that just tangles her up in even more lies and half-truths.<\/p>\nBoth women are fucked up in their own way. Greta is aware that she\u2019s being creepy, that she\u2019s taking advantage of knowing Big Swiss is unhappy and unfulfilled in her marriage. But Big Swiss is playing games too.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe only person more disheveled than Walter was Sabine\u2019s eighty-six-year-old father, Seymour. His rusty Fiat pulled into the drive way as it did every afternoon without fail. Since Seymour seemed made of a combination of wax and papier-mache, it was always unsettling to see him behind the wheel. On a good day, he bore a strong resemblance to Gene Hackman. On an average day, a wax effigy of Gene Hackman from Madame Tussaud\u2019s. On a bad, a ghoulish funeral effigy of Gene Hackman from an underground chamber of horrors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
While the book isn\u2019t written in first person, it\u2019s a close third person that feels like it reflects Greta\u2019s viewpoint above all. Which includes her dry, often cruel, sense of humour.<\/p>\n
I like how matter of fact the narrative is about these women\u2019s bisexuality, that it isn\u2019t a big revelation. I like most of the weird details of Greta\u2019s life, and Sabine\u2019s quirks. I like the dog Pi\u00f1on, who is described in ways that make me certain Beagin is a dog owner and lover. And I loved the transcripts dotted through the text, with Greta\u2019s commentary interspersed as she types them up.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cAnd so, they\u2019d adopted a dog\u2026His original owner had dropped dead; Pi\u00f1on had nowhere to go. All he really required was several hours of exercise per day and to be made the centre of their universe. They signed the papers\u2026His kisses were dry, sweet perfection. His breath smelled like licorice. She\u2019d never known such pure and uncomplicated love. Her life, pre-Pi\u00f1on, seemed like a formless fog. What had gotten her out of bed in the morning? How had she lived?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
On reflection, Greta\u2019s relationship with her dog is another early indication of her obsessiveness. While I fully support loving your dog to bits, there is a point where it becomes\u2026weird.<\/p>\n
What I didn\u2019t enjoy was Greta\u2019s racism. I get that we\u2019re not necessarily meant to like her, but it seemed a bit extreme and no-one ever calls her on it. At least everyone who finds out about it agrees her relationship with Big Swiss is unethical. But it felt like for much of the novel, the narrative is more judgemental of Sabine being a bit odd, despite the fact she has her life together enough to own a house (albeit one that\u2019s falling down).<\/p>\n
With all those reservations, I still enjoyed the ride. This was a quick and funny read, and as long as you don\u2019t need to like your main character, I guess it\u2019s okay for them to be a bit awful.<\/p>\n
Published 2023 by Simon & Schuster.<\/p>\n
Source: birthday present from Tim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m a fan of the Weirdos Book Club podcast with Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd, though I don\u2019t always agree with their take on books. For instance, both hosts loved My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh, which I found\u2026meh. So when they heartily recommended Big Swiss by Jen Beagin I couldn\u2019t be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7043344,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[205804,1022,2268,9489,5805,23517,5687,3749,7513,1905],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7043343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-beagin","tag-big","tag-book","tag-comedy","tag-dogs","tag-jen","tag-lgbtqia","tag-review","tag-sex","tag-swiss"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Big](\"https:\/\/noseinabook.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/big-swiss-200x307.jpg\")
I\u2019m a fan of the Weirdos Book Club<\/a> podcast with Sara Pascoe and Cariad Lloyd, though I don\u2019t always agree with their take on books. For instance, both hosts loved My Year of Rest and Relaxation<\/i> by Otessa Moshfegh, which I found\u2026meh<\/a>. So when they heartily recommended Big Swiss<\/i> by Jen Beagin I couldn\u2019t be sure I would like it. But it\u2019s a comedy about a relationship that starts at a dog park, so I at least knew dogs would feature heavily. And it would hopefully be a light read. I\u2019d say it achieves those things. And I did like it, though I wouldn\u2019t go so far as love.<\/p>\n