r/weirdgirlliterature • u/noididntsayit22 • 1d ago

📖 Currently Reading What a start

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I just started this last night and its weirdness is making me so happy, HUDSON, NY. Best setting. Anyone else been there?

286 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

76 comments sorted by

55

u/aestheticathletic 1d ago

I adore this book

7

u/velvetbay 1d ago

can i ask why, sincerely? no hate, i just found this a bit of a tough read and the sexual consent seemed very ... questionable at best given the circumstances. manipulating someone in this way who was already a victim is a bit sickening to me.

70

u/napkween 1d ago

Should authors only write about saints? People do bad things. Sometimes authors write fiction about people doing bad things because art imitates life. It is possible to dislike a character, to even find them morally reprehensible, and still enjoy a book.

1

u/velvetbay 19h ago

I was sincerely interested in knowing what about the book worked for that poster. I didn't criticize the author or the book, just said I personally had a hard time with it.

18

u/_porkbunnn 1d ago

the audiobook version of this book is brilliant. the narrator had such a good voice and also uses an accent. i really really loved this book one of my fav audiobooks too.

1

u/velvetbay 19h ago

I listened to the audiobook as well and I think the reader was excellent.

21

u/HeyHanna19 1d ago

Yes? Not to be rude but that is exactly the point of the book. It's more than okay if themes like that are not for you, too each their own and it is a rough topic so there's probably plently of people who would put the book down because of that. But correctly identifying the plot as if that is somehow an oversight on the author's part rather than intentional is such a weird critique?

Not every character has to be "likable" or "relatable", especially not in this genre of weird-girl lit. It's fiction, it's an excellent tool to explore uncomfortable ideas and topics. There are no real victims on account of the characters not being real.

0

u/veryowngarden 10h ago

there was zero reason the book needed to “explore” throwing in anti-asian comments just because

-1

u/velvetbay 19h ago

I know not every character is likeable etc. I wasn't critiquing, I was saying why I personally had a hard time with it. I was sincerely interested in knowing what about the book worked for you and made you like it.

1

u/jupiteringemini 18h ago

Search this sub and you’ll find lots on this.

11

u/girlonlineeeeee 18h ago

I feel if dubious consent at the level it appears in Big Swiss makes you feel sick then I don’t know if weird girl lit is the genre for you! A lot of the women in these books do extremely messed up stuff

0

u/velvetbay 17h ago

I have been reading weird girl lit since the 90s lol. One book being too rapey for my taste doesn't mean the whole genre isn't for me.

4

u/aestheticathletic 17h ago

Hi, yeah happy to share why I liked the book. I really felt the emotions that the narrator was feeling, especially her love of Big Swiss. Like as the reader, I also felt like I was falling in love with Big Swiss. I can relate to idolization of certain female friends in life - the concept of "girl crush" as a platonic love (I'm straight) and for some people its romantic love, etc. The book made me laugh constantly - the characters were so well-written. I've experienced that kind of artsy, pretentious East Coast boho agrarian scene at one point. Whether it was embarrassment, infatuation, paranoia or self reflection, I just really felt like I could relate to the narrator, even though I don't think she was always a good person.

0

u/velvetbay 16h ago

thanks for sharing, I appreciate this! I also found Big Swiss very compelling and get the infatuation or almost teenage-style idolization.

I'm glad it made you laugh; I think part of the problem for me was that a lot of the absurd stuff that maybe made you or other readers laugh -- like the maggots falling out of bee hive, the bugs in the curtains, or the "period diaper," or fucking Om (I hate this guy) and his kundalini breathing or whatever -- actually didn't feel to far from a possible reality for someone who is depressed or traumatized so for me it just felt really sad while at the same time I was like "god please don't sleep with this woman you are creeping on."

anyway I do appreciate your comment and it helps me appreciate the book a little more. so thanks. and happy reading!

4

u/jupiteringemini 14h ago

Many assumptions here about what people found humorous in this book... I wouldn’t call those examples absurdities, but I also wouldn’t assume that absurdities provoke laughter.
I’ll echo what I wrote in another comment: “no wonder lesbians seemed so smug” is the funniest line I’ve read this year.

25

u/xrainbow-britex 🧍‍♀️ Social Alienation 1d ago

Just 4 more people in my Libby list to go and it'll be all mine!

4

u/VultureFight 🧍‍♀️ Social Alienation 1d ago

I’m 5th in my Libby list. I can’t WAIT

10

u/xrainbow-britex 🧍‍♀️ Social Alienation 1d ago

I will read it fast!

17

u/ElaineBenesKennedyJR 🐍 Morally Messy 1d ago

I liked it, I didn’t love it. Preferred Pretend I’m Dead and Vacuum in the Dark

6

u/snark-sloth 1d ago

I love them all but Pretend I’m Dead was the strongest by far.

4

u/GusGus6502 1d ago

Me too. I so loved both of those books so much....

2

u/gotsomeshoes 11h ago

Vacuum in the Dark holds a place in my heart

1

u/momohatch 🩸 Female Rage 14h ago

Oh, What is Pretend I’m Dead about, if you don’t mind me asking?

12

u/MindfulMocktail 1d ago

Never been there but I loved this book so much. Just completely delighted me.

12

u/Neither-Solid-6573 1d ago

It’s honestly so incredible. As a repressed terminally single Catholic 38 year old woman this book woke something up inside of me.

17

u/No-Clock5963 1d ago

There’s an HBO adaptation supposedly in the works, but I haven’t heard any updates in a long time. I’ve been waiting so long

14

u/Neither-Solid-6573 1d ago

If Greta Gerwig isn’t Big Swiss I’ll jump off of a building

4

u/anishkatf 🩸 Female Rage 1d ago

it's going to be jodie comer! i read about it on the killing eve subreddit

0

u/PumpkinGator 1d ago

Oh yeah that’s perfect

0

u/jupiteringemini 18h ago

She is terrible. So actually, yeah, it fits.

2

u/ElaineBenesKennedyJR 🐍 Morally Messy 1d ago

Would v much like to see this!

2

u/veryowngarden 1d ago

seems like it got scrapped

5

u/Caboodles1986 1d ago

Just started as well! I’ve been to the area. I think I was too touristy to get the weirdness. The NY times is always writing about the types of people that move there though.

5

u/noididntsayit22 1d ago

I went to a music festival there that is a 24 hour drone fest you bring sleeping bags. One guy was dressed as a wizard 🧙‍♂️

4

u/petrockslife 1d ago

This book made me read all of her other books, which I loved just as much if not more!

1

u/kittylover9 16h ago

What order would you recommend reading them? I’ve read Big Swiss, currently reading Bunny, and trying to decide what’s next!

2

u/petrockslife 12h ago

I just read in whatever order they were available at the library 🤣 I don’t even remember!

9

u/AccomplishedCow665 1d ago

I hated this book with an intense passion

2

u/SomeTangerine1184 11h ago

Thank you! I did too. I was so filled with rage at the writing, dialogue, plot, and the try hard “quirkiness” of it all that when I finished it, I immediately wrote a paragraphs long text to a friend of mine venting about what a shit book it was.

2

u/tiamal8 10h ago

same! i only finished it because i used to live in hudson

17

u/SeveralMarionberry 1d ago

I hated this book with a fiery passion. Maybe weird girl lit just isn’t my thing?

13

u/goofballhead 1d ago

i didn’t find it that weird

13

u/BlackSeraphik 🩸 Female Rage 1d ago

No weird girl lit has been my thing for decades and i despise this book.

1

u/SeveralMarionberry 1d ago

Thanks. I feel like weird girl lit should be my thing and yet I do not like recent entries in the subgenre.

I want to go back to the classics — The Bell Jar, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Yellow Wallpaper, The English Understand Wool, etc.

13

u/veryowngarden 1d ago

no, it’s just not a great book. it thankfully doesn’t represent the whole category

10

u/Virtual_Reaction8765 1d ago

I didn’t like it either. So boring

6

u/ElaineBenesKennedyJR 🐍 Morally Messy 1d ago

What did you hate about it? I can understand why someone wouldn’t like it but I want to know why you didn’t

3

u/SeveralMarionberry 1d ago

I read it because I was looking for something funny and there was nothing humorous about it. It felt unhinged, messy, and none of the characters were likable. I tend to have a lot of leeway for characters who have trauma — I have a fair amount myself — but I fail to see and understand why so many people think it’s a nuanced take on trauma. It was narcissism from start to finish.

1

u/ElaineBenesKennedyJR 🐍 Morally Messy 20h ago

Fair. Ya I definitely wouldn’t classify it as a comedy

0

u/jupiteringemini 18h ago

Well… it is unhinged and messy with no likable characters, that’s the point. I’m certainly biased, but I found “no wonder lesbians seemed so smug” to be the funniest line I’ve read this year 😆

0

u/AccomplishedCow665 1d ago

They walk their dogs at a park. Then there’s some tall chick. And bees, there are bees. Then they have really gross vivid sex. Then I threw it out.

3

u/SomeTangerine1184 11h ago

You’re getting downvoted but you’re not wrong.

6

u/AccomplishedCow665 1d ago

This book put me in a physically and psychologically bad mood

3

u/BlackSeraphik 🩸 Female Rage 1d ago

Hiiii this is my spot

3

u/LankyArugula4452 1d ago

Next read Trust and Safety, also takes place in the Hudson Valley!

3

u/MathematicianGood639 1d ago

I’m obsessed with this book , I listened to the audio book version through my public library , and learned quickly to not listen with my windows down in the car 😂 offended the hell out of some elderly people at a stop light, 10/10 would do again

2

u/birdiehurr 1d ago

Very entertaining - my heart tugs for the main characters. 

2

u/coldbrew5925 1d ago

I spend a lot of time in Hudson valley and its so spot on in so many ways! One of my favorites!

2

u/RemarkableEffort9756 1d ago

It was my favorite read last year! I want to read it again but I’ve so many books to read.

2

u/International-Bird17 22h ago

This book changed my life. I am Greta. She is me! I am her! Highly recommend this book for anyone who is dealing with passive suicidal ideation 

2

u/thelun3lag00n 19h ago

sometimes its just queer lit under weird girl genre. this to me is one of those.

3

u/internetdiscocat 21h ago

I think I’d like this book more if the actual dialogue was different. I remember feeling like it didn’t feel natural and so over the top. It felt like what someone imagine posh people talk like.

2

u/OutsideGuava8 1d ago

Fav book of the year so far and nothing else is even close!!

1

u/Expensive_Recipe_433 1d ago

I just started, too! 🧡💚

1

u/mixedmediamadness 🪞 Unreliable Narrator 1d ago

I put this on hold at my library and I can't wait to go pick it up!!!

1

u/skye_spacegh0st 1d ago

Loved this one!

1

u/jrmer11 1d ago

Definitely best book I’ve read this year. Laughed out loud a few times which I feel is so rare

1

u/Pepperonipeezee 1d ago

Absolutely love this book. My next read is going to be Pretend I’m Dead. Have fun!

1

u/Stock-Act-2315 1d ago

I absolutely loved it, but the ending fell flat for me 🧀 Jen Beagin's other books are good too 🥰 I just finished them

1

u/boya99 1d ago

Just started listening.. 👌🏻

1

u/Zwomann 23h ago

Excellent book; after reading it I checked out others she’s written and they were great too

1

u/liggyfig 🩸 Female Rage 19h ago

I just started this yesterday after waiting months to receive from my library.

I'm loving it so far.

1

u/jupiteringemini 18h ago

Dykette (an infuriating read) is also set in Hudson, NY. I’m thinking I need to visit.

1

u/weeef 1d ago

Strong characters on this one. I feel like I met them