Say, Say, Say (by Lila Savage)

When I'm reading off the longlist, I often read through the lens of Will this make the shortlist and in this case I am guessing no. It's a short meditation from the point of view of Ella, who is a caregiver for Jill, a wife with dementia, and in the process a friend to Bryn, the husband that cares for her. She also has a girlfriend, Alix, and Ella's relationships with all these characters are pondered at length.

The writing is lovely and interior, reminiscent of James and Wharton, and this loveliness was enough to push me past a really grotesque caricature of an obese person that almost made me quit. Ultimately this book has no plot, is an exploration of Ella's feelings about her relationships and about caring for others. But it didn't work for me in the end. It added up to less than the sum of its parts, somehow. But Lila Savage can write, for sure.