Big Swiss

The Bollinger short-listed Beagin (Vacuum in the Dark) confronts sexuality, relationships, addiction, violence, and small-town living in a novel featuring damaged people striving to become whole. When Greta was 13 years old, her mother died by suicide, and she was raised by a series of relatives, each a little less savory than the last. As an adult, she dumps her fiancé of 10 years and starts afresh by moving to a small New York town, where she consults a therapist and eventually becomes his transcriptionist. Greta soon becomes intrigued with a woman she nicknames Big Swiss, whose therapy sessions she is transcribing, but she can’t venture any closer; she’s constrained by her confidentiality agreement with the therapist. Then she accidentally encounters Big Swiss at the dog park and recognizes her voice. Big Swiss is looking for a friend, but the relationship soon turns sexual, which means Greta must lie about who she is. What that means for the relationship eventually forces Greta to confront her past.