Left: A Love Story

Hogan (Two Sisters) chronicles the life of Fay Agarra, the wife and caregiver of a husband with dementia, in this touching novel. Fay struggles to overcome the heartache and frustration caused by a recent trip to Spain with her husband, Paul. He hasn’t been himself lately—misremembering things, wandering off, and even leaving Fay at a gas station while on their way to the airport. As incidents pile up, Fay comes to the realization that something is terribly wrong. Meanwhile, Paul, a retired judge, becomes less and less like the man Fay married, and Fay begins to fantasize about living a different, carefree life with a new, more compatible husband within one of the many fancy brownstones that surround her. The book jumps back and forth between the present, Fay’s memories, and her fantasies, making the narrative often confusing to follow. Although presented as a love story, Hogan’s tale rarely feels romantic; instead, the book poignantly portrays Fay’s struggle to come to terms with Paul’s dementia while opening up (but never attempting to resolve) uncomfortable yet necessary questions about the conditions of love. (June)