Fiction
Switzy by Emma Cline
T he 2026 Booker Prize Longlist is out and there are some amazing, challenging and intersting books on it. I’ve definitely enjoyed more of these books this year, than those listed in 2025.
Of this years’ Longlist I’ve finished John of John by Douglas Stuart (brilliant, probably my favourite book so far this year), The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (the queen of saying so much with such paucity of words) and Switzy.
Switzy has probably stayed with me most after reading all three, despite it not necessarily being my favourite.
Switzy is the story of a David, a man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, who has reached the end of his life and is seeking to go out on his own terms. He’s a US citizen and makes the choice to undetake voluntary assisted dying in Switzerland.
It’s a confronting topic, and I would say this book is not for everyone. It’s written from David’s perspective and as his mind unravels due to his illness, the so too does his narrative. From misremembering, wandering off, explosive emotional outbursts and reflections on life gone by, the story takes a deep dive looking at the social and emotional cost of living a privileged life.
The reader must make assumptions, lots of occurences late in the novel are implied as David’s cognition rapidly declines – from inferences about relationships and past events, to why characters behave as they do in his presence – much of this simply goes over his head.
The themes explored in the novel include aging, voluntary assisted dying, relationships and social awareness. More than just a treatise on death and dying, the book insightfully explores the social cost of elitism and a life lived for money and prestige over community, family and friendship. David gets to experience the fallout of his life and actions at the very end, as he attempts to make good and say his final goodbyes to the people who mattered most to him.
