After a breakup, Greta moves in with an old acquaintance in rustic, artsy Hudson, NY. She works for a sex therapist named Om, who was definitely not born with that name and definitely not licensed as a therapist. She transcribes his sessions and learns all about the small town’s wild characters. One patient, however, has her enthralled – maybe even in love. Her name is Flavia, but Greta calls her Big Swiss. Flavia is working with Om because she can’t have an orgasm, but it totally has nothing to do with the brutal assault she once experienced at the hands of a man who is about to be released from prison.
Every character is dealing with immense trauma. Greta’s roommate Sabine has a reason for leaving her family; Greta never fully dealt with her mother’s suicide; Flavia barely survived her attack; even the house she lives in is getting attacked from the inside out. They’re dealing with some very dark stuff. It’s so dark, actually, that it’s funny. There is a weirdness to every single character in this book but nobody seems to find any of it strange. It’s like we’re living in a carnival funhouse and nobody even notices – and there’s a sort of genius to that.
4.0 out of 5 stars.
Pair with: Bee’s Knees cocktail
Peaches to Apples 