While @wetcircuit and @Liquid make important points, I'll once more try a step by step list.

There are two options when analysing a novel: either it's an academic assignment, or it isn't. If it's the former (and the mark really matters to you), read the whole thing once, then read it again and take your sweet time going through all the details. And then re-read it a third time if need be. If it's the latter, you once more have two options: either your focus is having fun with the read, or your focus includes being able to give accurate feedback or a deep analysis/review. I'm going to assume the latter is the case.

1. Prepare yourself

Get a notebook to jot down your impressions as you read. Make a list of what you have to consider: narrator, characters, time and place, action, description, symbols, style.

2. Theme

Sometimes, one knows the main theme when going in (most love stories and spy-action stories will have the same basic one). If this is the case, you can add theme to the list of things you're keeping track of.

If you don't know the theme, do not try to identify it from the get go. Let the story develop and reveal it to you stress-free.

3. Chapters

Read one chapter at a time, and stop for a reflection at the end of each.

3.1 narrator
Identify the type of narrator and see how much impact it has on the tone of the story.

If it's a third persson narrator, check if the POV is focused on one or more characters. See how that POV shifts and how it affects the read.

Was the best POV chosen, or another character would have made more sense? If there are multiple POVs, is there a confusing head-hopping approach or is there a logic to it? And does it work?

3.2 characters and action (including time and space)
Who did what, basically.

Look at how the characters are presented and described. Look at their importance both for the narrator and for the action. Start wondering about their motives and their character (do their actions match their ideas/ideals?).

As you advance in the book, map out the action. Identify the main plot and the secondary plots and see how they are weaved together. Pay attention to time jumps (to the past and to the future), how the events relate to one another (think in terms of what causes what), and how they interact. See how space is dealt: are there locations in the plot that are negative or positive? How is it described? Get a feel for the rhytm: is it slow or fast paced? Are there slow moments that help to up the tension or is it the speed of events tht creates it? How do the events affect the characters and make them grow (or not)? Do the characters' motives change?

If you want to be fancy, make an actual map where you jot down which plots are dealt with in which chapters and then show off cool graphics proving that the plots are balanced throughout the book.... or not. You'll be accused of nitpicking, but! Everybody loves cool graphics.

3.3 Description and Dialogue
When there are descriptions, pay attention to them. Is there something meaningful about one of them? Are there colours or moods that are insisted on? Are they too long or too short? Do they use metaphors, images, etc? How are adjectives used?

Analyse dialogues carefully (but not word by word). How do words match the thoughts of the characters? Are the dialogues solely to advance the plot, solely to characterise the characters or a mix of both? Is there balance between dialogues and narration (eg.: unbalanced walls of dialogue)? If the dialogues are long, is there a balance of direct, indirect and free indirect speech to avoid monotony?

3.4 themes and symbols
Allow the theme and symbols to manifest themselves at their own rhythm.

To be honest, you can do the above with little to no writing (if you have a good memory). You can also analyse some dialogues and skip others. You can ignore every description save one that caught your fancy. However, if there's a chapter that feels particularly good - or bad - I strongly advise you to re-read it to identify what caused that impression.

If the objective is to give some feedback, a relaxed approach may be better. If the objective is as much feedback as possible, treat each chapter as a short story and then see how the chapters build the greater picture.

Surely no one can sit down and agonize over individual word choices in a larger work the way they can over something as short as three to four pages.

You can agonise about anything, but that is usually the author's privilege in a novel. Seriously, there are moments when it's right to agonise over word choice. If you're going through a dialogue, keep an eye out for 'said / asked / shrugged / ...'. If it's a description of an important character / landscape / dress, then check if the words convey the right feeling. Again, how thorough you are depends on what your aim is.

When I beta for someone, I look at every detail because that is what I feel my job entails. I often look at the use of parallel and contrasting structures / events within the book, individual chapters, paragraphs or sentences. I jot down important characters' physical and psychological descriptions to make sure they're consistent througout the work and, yes, I do make cool graphics. I once used a graphic to prove a secondary character deserved its own arc because it nearly had more appearances than the MC.

Of course the author has to make clear if they want their work nitpicked or not. Some people welcome a 'why did you have the character look at the horizon with beady eyes', while some are only interested in having plotholes pointed out.

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