Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, New York. The house, built in 1737, is unrenovated, uninsulated, and full of bees. Greta spends her days transcribing therapy sessions for a sex coach who calls himself Om. She becomes infatuated with his newest client, a repressed married woman she affectionately refers to as Big Swiss, since she's tall, stoic, and originally from Switzerland. Greta is fascinated by Big Swiss's refreshing attitude toward trauma. They both have dark histories, but Big Swiss chooses to remain unattached to her suffering while Greta continues to be tortured by her past. One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss's voice at the dog park. In a panic, she introduces herself with a fake name and they quickly become enmeshed. Although Big Swiss is unaware of Greta's true identity, Greta has never been more herself with anyone. Her attraction to Big Swiss overrides her guilt, and she'll do anything to sustain the relationship.
Eccentric and wise ... In Beagin’s hands, the entire situation remains clean and pillowy ... While Big Swiss is one of the funniest books of the last few years, Beagin can handle darkness ... Hilarious, humanistic ... There is ample joy to be found in Big Swiss ... Shelve her latest novel alongside those of Richard Russo, Nora Ephron, Armistead Maupin, Jess Walter and other comic novelists whose works are both timely and ultimately transcendent.
Though the book is bogged down by cultural references and silly wordplay...the dissonances between Greta’s transcribed sessions and her lived life make for a fun read with the quick pace of a Nell Zink novel ... That Greta begins healing in a town full of alleged healers is part of the book’s irony — and its charm.
In Big Swiss, trauma and sexual obsession intertwine to create a sprawling and delightful mess ... The novel offers a satirical take on our therapy-obsessed culture, our need to prescribe meaning and labels to every banal event in our lives ... Beagin’s witty and tender rendering of Greta keeps the reader rooting for her, even when Greta begs to be abandoned ... For all the discussions of trauma and anxiety, Beagin’s novel is satisfyingly dirty — and perhaps a little deranged. I mean this as a compliment.
