Their relationship is doomed for several reasons, and what propels the story forward is the question when the women will reach the point at which they will finally be unable to escape their demons. The women at the center of the text are both hanging on by a thread due to past trauma they haven't overcome: Flavia was severely assaulted by a man, and Greta has repressed memories relating to her mother's suicide that occurred when she was only 13 years old. When the two meet at the dog park and Greta recognizes Flavia's voice, the women start an affair - but of course, Flavia can't know that Greta is aware of all of her trauma due to her being the one transcribing Om's sessions.

Listening to a series of recordings, Greta is increasingly fascinated by Om's new patient Flavia, whom she privately calls 'Big Swiss' (as Flavia is a tall Swiss woman), a 28-year-old married gynecologist who never had an orgasm.

In the Ottessa Moshfegh tradition of severely messed-up female protagonists, Beagin gives us 45-year-old Greta, a former pharm tech with a recently broken engagement whose current job it is to transcribe the sessions of a sex coach - and we're not talking about a serious therapist here: Om is, as the name suggests, a New Age amateur who is still consulted by lots of folk, thus granting Greta access to numerous potentially compromising secrets of the people living around her in Hudson, New York. Come for the bees, stay for the donkeys!' MELISSA BRODER I delighted in this cynical, sexy, hopeless, hopeful, Hudson Valley jubilee. A relationship that will transform both of their lives.'Big Swiss is a dark party a hilarious romp through new age pop psychology, romantic obsession, sapphic acrobatics, dogs, and the desire to end it all. A new - and not entirely honest - relationship is going to be born. What Greta doesn't know is that she's about to bump into Big Swiss in the local dog park. Greta is miles away, sitting at a desk in her own house, wearing only headphones, fingerless gloves, a kimono, and legwarmers, transcribing this disembodied voice. Greta and Big Swiss are not in the same room, or even the same building.

Nor has Greta actually ever been to Switzerland. Well that's how Greta imagines seeing her they haven't actually ever met in person. She's a including the heads of infants and dogs. Greta can see her dressed top to toe in white, that adorable gap between her two front teeth, her penetrating blue eyes. That's Greta's nickname for her - she is tall, and she is from Switzerland. ** AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW ** ** SOON TO BE A MAJOR HBO SERIES STARRING JODIE COMER ** Greta liked knowing people's secrets.

Big swiss jen beagin summary