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Switzy

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026

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Switzy

By: Emma Cline
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
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**LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2026**

*A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK 2026: BBC, Publishers Weekly, Lit Hub, Bookstr, Glossary, Paper Trails*

A mesmerising portrait of an ageing man’s last pilgrimage, from the bestselling author of The Girls and The Guest

A private plane cuts through the winter night, somewhere over Greenland. David, a retired executive, sits back in his leather seat, playing solitaire on his phone. Click. Click. Drag. Click. In his pocket is a notebook filled with urgent reminders — but he can no longer read his own handwriting.

He’s travelling with his assistant. There will be a stopover in London, dinner with his adult daughter, a meeting in France with an old friend. His final destination: a clinic in Zurich.

As David glides through hotel rooms, airports and foreign cities, his grasp on the present slips away and the past rushes in.

With David’s arrival in Zurich looming, an exquisitely rendered portrait of an unravelling mind emerges. Hypnotic and moving, Switzy probes the depths of human consciousness, revealing what a man is left with when the accomplishments and compromises that have defined him, and the illusions he's relied on, vanish.

'Immersive, elegiac, and very real' BOOKER PRIZE 2026 JUDGES
'Sublime... completely gripping... a wonder' MARK HADDON
'Her best book yet. Completely extraordinary' DAISY JOHNSON
‘Poignant but unsentimental, it is her best novel yet' JEM CALDER

© Emma Cline 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026

Editors Select Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Aviation England
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Critic reviews

A perfect novel, one that goes to the places only novels can go (Samantha Harvey)
A magnificent high-wire book that turns a personal crisis into a reckoning with modern life... a stunning achievement (Johanna Thomas-Corr)
A terrific novel - deep, challenging, but as accessible and compulsive as a thriller (CLARE CHAMBERS)
Stunning, deeply affecting... an absolute masterpiece of a book, which will live in my head - and yours, I expect - for a very long time (India Knight)
This superb Booker-nominated novel follows an ailing, unreliable narrator as he seeks to end his life before he is lost to dementia (Olivia Ovenden)
Utterly compelling... the very purest modern tragedy, with a deep vein of satire on late capitalism... quite sublime (Giles Coren)
Profoundly moving... the last pages of Switzy, which mingle horror, beauty, absurdity, and a sense of profound finality, will probably stay with me for ever (Chris Power)
Switzy is bold, vital storytelling that demonstrates a writer at the top of her craft
An astoundingly original depiction of an interior life... both startlingly moving and keenly funny... Cline's best novel yet (Natalie Portman)
Her best book yet. Completely extraordinary (DAISY JOHNSON)
All stars
Most relevant
A little annoying that the narrator had such a poor English accent when much of the narrative takes place there, definitely detracts from the amazing story for me

Amazing book

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A sure best-seller due to the overall premise. However, I found the events leading up to David’s demise disjointed and also largely unbelievable, and they gave us no insight into the character (unless we are “told” instead if “shown”). Scenes with Rebecca were odd - why did they meet for dinner when he was due to visit her house anyway? David’s sudden return to her house to collect his phone wasn’t necessary and didn’t add anything. He behaves so oddly and is going to Switzerland and she doesn’t get it? Really?
The Tom story was too drawn out. And Cody? Unless I missed something there’s no reason for his attachment.
A good narration kept me going with this book.

Disappointing

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This is a compelling listen but definitely not what you’d call a holiday read. Long listed, but not shortlisted, for the 2026 Booker Prize — which it deserved to win.

Serious book for serious readers

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I'm not sure how to feel about this very well written account of a terrible, tragic meaningless way to end a life. I don't know if it helps the living to read about this kind of death subjectively. Reading this feels exacly like depression feels.

Switzy

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Beautifully written unique story from an interesting point of view. Gives you a lot to think and reflect about.

Unique take on a very relevant story

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