Big Swiss, Jen Beagin
July 2023
Hilarious, original, smart and knowing - but not exclusively so; if you’ve never heard of Hudson, NY, and the type who move there, Big Swiss will fill you in very quickly. You’ll find a Hudson not far from most cosmopolitan cities, wherever you live. It’s a codified escape from the official rat race, but you mostly need decent funds, an SUV, and a working knowledge of kundalini or hallucinogens to fully vibe with the place.
Jen Beagin’s sideways love story follows Greta, who has moved from California to Hudson to work as a transcriber for a questionable sex therapist and finds herself living cheek to chai latte with the voices she types up, and falling for one of them.
I was the annoying reader who demanded Ben or anyone else’s attention every few pages to share a few lines of Big Swiss, and downloaded Beagin’s debut, Pretend I’m Dead, as soon as I’d finished. I recommend you do the same. Or read her debut first. I don’t know, just find some time to read some Jen Beagin. Thanks Daisy for lending this one to me.