Written from scratch by Junic Andy So – Meston Ecoa
No assistance was received from any form of Artificial Intelligence.
No assistance was received from any grammar or vocabulary enhancing software.
Recommendation for Readers
contains no spoilers
That talkative, spontaneous, harmless, funny friend we all have at least one of is Greta. Not the blatantly funny kind who is full of themselves, but a casual joker who often joke at the expense of themselves. A friend that random things will happen to and makes you wonder how eventful a person’s life can get unlike your own. Jen Beagin’s jokes through the mouths of Greta, Big Swiss, Sabine and the narrator will present you a good chuckle every now and then. Portraying a sex therapy transcriber in a small town encountering clients allows for an unlikely but plausible enough background for the narrative. A sort of mind-reading enabled in a non-fantasy genre. Gradually overstepping the bounds of a therapy transcriber, a suspense is slowly cultivated throughout the book. The pros and cons of this book are distinctly apparent that I could not recommend it universally, especially to young readers. The breadth of readers it will appeal to seems quite limited. I am wary that it may not be relatable to some readers, or lack implication. If these topics are something you are interested in, maybe it is worth a shot. Sex, sexuality, trauma, relationship, love, jokes, a lot of jokes, jokes everywhere, jokes about sex.
One Paragraph Review
contains no spoilers
Closing the book came with something odd. As though trying to recollect the sensation, I paid attention to the aftertaste. I may have closed my eyes at the expense of being extra. For me, what remains after a book is as abstract as colors. It is abstract, but straightforward. It doesn’t lie. Although, colors are not a good medium for communicating as well as for storing-if you were to look back trying to remember what you got out of the book you would prefer words. So I attempt to textualize. Here is where I felt odd. It was because the careful textualization of that color yielded something much less sophisticated than my original expectation of what the result would be like. Similar to when one thought he aced an interview, but the results were different? What stood remaining after the read was the narrative, the series of events, those in the physical sense. This was startling, because I know this book allocated a great deal to the psychology and emotions, the history of the characters, the character development. Three of the four most notable characters are a therapist, therapy client, and a therapy transcriber, so you can imagine how much delineation would take place. I skimmed the book from start to end. Mid-way I would confirm that there was in fact lots dedicated to the build-up of characters. Upon closing the book again, however, I would realize that the color was not misleading.
One Paragraph Summary
contains spoilers
Greta transcribes sex therapy sessions for a living in the small town of Hudson. Her life has always been far from stable. She left her fiancé and her home in Los Angeles to live with her loosely acquainted friend Sabine on the opposite coast. Her home is in apparent need of renovation. The bee hive, maggots, ants, poor insulation, poor firewood heating, flakes of paint coming off, and most prominently, their unwillingness to make fundamental renovations seemingly represents Greta’s state of mind. Hudson being a small town she runs into clients, recognizing them by their voices. She often struggles pretending not to know them. Among clients is Big Swiss, one she particularly developed an affinity for. Something in the Swiss lady’s personality, the potentness or the coldness and/despite her history of being assaulted got her intrigued. Until one day, finally, she met her at the dog park. They had an instant connection, leading to many subsequent dates and affairs. Big Swiss is married to Luke. Greta finally hears Big Swiss’s real name – Flavia. Big Swiss gets Greta’s fake name – Rebekah. While Greta’s eavesdropping on Flavia’s session perhaps has been a plainly intriguing experience, now she ends up hearing the nitty gritty details of her lover. Beyond the excitement of the affair is a much wider range of emotions – drawn into Greta, but largely uncomprehending of her. Meanwhile, Flavia’s assaulter, Keith, is released from prison and returns to Hudson. Feelings between the two grow deeper and Big Swiss confesses the relationship to Luke. The confession may well have been a trigger, reminding Luke that Keith’s doing is the culprit behind the impairment of everything. It didn’t only demolish Flavia’s jaws eight years ago. It birthed the insecurity and trauma which led to an affair, subsequently breaking the marriage. The assault has traumatized a part of Luke as well, driving him to prepare for a physical confrontation. He goes up to Keith, confronts him, and ends up getting stabbed multiple times. Big Swiss declares to Greta that this can no longer go on. Greta makes steps to tend to herself.
Source
• book cover photo: shot myself
