I wanted to love this but it just felt like an overlong short story – slow, SLOW pacing and forgettable character development. Too much space, not enough traction: it’s largely meditative/an interior monologue with a thin plot, but even at 4 hours this felt too long. Maybe I’ve read too many books about grief this year, but this didn’t grab me. Very confused as to how it ended up on the Booker shortlist!