Week Two: Big Swiss
JUNE 14, 2023 • CAMP TOB WEEK TWO
Big Swiss
with Activity Leader Karen Alexander
Hello and welcome to our second week at Camp ToB 2023. This time around, we continue our June vibe—“every story is an unconventional love story”—with the conclusion of our first book of the summer, Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. And to round out the theme, next week we’ll cover the first half (through book two) of Couplets by Maggie Millner.
-
Greta lives with her friend Sabine in an ancient Dutch farmhouse in Hudson, NY. The house 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. One day, Greta recognizes Big Swiss’s voice in town and they quickly become enmeshed. While Big Swiss is unaware Greta has eavesdropped on her most intimate exchanges, 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.
This has been excerpted from the publisher’s summary and edited for length.
Now let’s welcome back Activity Leader Karen Alexander (aka Bookherd), who’s on deck to take us through the second half of Big Swiss. Over to you, Karen, to let us know what you want to chat about this week.
Thank you! Here are this week’s discussion questions:
The deception aspect of the storyline felt like the contrived plot of a romantic comedy to me—something that would only happen in a movie. Did you buy Greta’s explanation that she “just panicked” when she met Flavia at the dog park and gave her a fake name? Why does Greta let the deception go on for so long?
Flavia tells Om that Greta/Rebekah is emotionally needy and damaged. “She just lives day to day like an animal. Sometimes she seems…lost.” She also says she’s usually judgmental of people who have affairs, “And now here I am, doing it.” She doesn’t seem to think much of how Greta lives. What is Flavia doing in this relationship, and what is she getting out of it?
Why do you think Greta agrees to have counseling sessions with Om, given her opinion of his skill as a counselor?
Does this book hang together for you? Is it a love story? Is it satirizing something? Is it a romantic comedy?
Welcome to the Commentariat
To keep our comments section as inclusive as possible for the book-loving public, please follow the guidelines below. We reserve the right to delete inappropriate or abusive comments, such as ad hominem attacks. We ban users who repeatedly post inappropriate comments.
Criticize ideas, not people. Divisiveness can be a result of debates over things we truly care about; err on the side of being generous. Let’s talk and debate and gnash our book-chewing teeth with love and respect for the Rooster community, judges, authors, commentators, and commenters alike.
If you’re uninterested in a line of discussion from an individual user, you can privately block them within Disqus to hide their comments (though they’ll still see your posts).
While it’s not required, you can use the Disqus <spoiler> tag to hide book details that may spoil the reading experience for others, e.g., “<spoiler>Dumbledore dies.<spoiler>”
We all feel passionately about fiction, but “you’re an idiot if you loved/hated this book that I hated/loved” isn't an argument—it’s just rude. Take a breath.