Big Swiss, or Where Trauma Becomes Identity

In which we consider the ways the novel Big Swiss, Ottessa Moshfegh's latest essay, Tar, and other media have shaped the way we see trauma and identity.

Hi, Y’all! Glad You’re Here—

Earlier this week, I read the novel Big Swiss by Jen Beagin—it follows a woman named Greta who develops a parasocial relationship with this woman whose therapy sessions she’s transcribing. Early on in the book, the woman (who Greta has nicknamed ‘Big Swiss’) tells her questionable therapist that she’s there to discuss her in…