 2025 book jacket byScribner | |
| Author | David Szalay |
|---|---|
| Audio read by | Daniel Weyman |
| Subject | Fictional alienation, adultery, trauma, interpersonal relations, young men |
| Genre | Rags to riches, Coming of age, Literary realism |
| Set in | Hungary and London, England |
| Published | March 2025 |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape,Scribner |
| Publication place | United Kingdom, United States |
| Media type | Print, E-book, Audio |
| Pages | 349 |
| ISBN | 9780224099783 (Cape) 9781982122799 (Scribner) |
| OCLC | 1438665214 |
| Website | Official website |
Flesh, published in 2025, is the sixth novel byDavid Szalay. It tells arags-to-riches story about a young Hungarian man named István. He lives an impulsive lifestyle, making rash decisions without thinking them through. After his sexual awakening, juvenile detention, military service and a series of menial jobs, István becomes a rich marriedsocialite in London. This success brings him some contentment, but István's largely unchanged personality generates conflict with his new family.
Some critics praised the novel's lean prose, compelling story and taciturn protagonist. Others reacted negatively to the decision to omit many important events in István's life from the narrative, and to his sparse, limited dialogue.[1]
The work won the2025 Booker Prize. The chair of the judging panel, the authorRoddy Doyle, described the work as "singular" in its narrative style. Doyle further stated that the sparseness of the novel invited the reader to engage with the character.[2]
This book opens with theprotagonist, István, as a shy and awkwardadolescent living on a Hungarian housing estate. The story follows his rise from poverty to married life amongst Europe's top-one-percent income earners, and his economic descent afterwards. His life takes many turns in between.
István is a virginal fifteen-year-old when he embarks on a relationship with a married 42-year-old woman (described in the novel's reviews as either an act of grooming on the woman's part, or as a clandestine affair). He gets into a fight with her husband and is blamed for his death, leading tojuvenile detention and later, soldiering during theIraq War. From these experiences he learns resilience.[3][4][5]
Later, István works in private security and then becomes achauffeur for a well-to-do family in London. Over time he becomes part of their life, including their moneyed lifestyle, clothes,private jets, and exclusive restaurants. He also has an affair with the young wife, during which the husband dies of natural causes, allowing her to marry István. Due to the couple's behaviour, István's new step-son despises him.[3][4][5]
The unusual aspect of this novel is how the author presents István as remaining "coarse, inarticulate and boorish" despite his elevation to the world of the super-rich.[4] In the words of theAssociated Press, he is "someone still stuck somewhat as a teenager, unable to completely interact with others on an adult level. It appears as though physical relationships are the only time he can truly connect with other adults."[6] He also retains a "disfiguring urge for violence" and feels like a "passive participant in the events of his life"[7] who is "hobbled largely beyond help by its traumas".[5]
István usually acts on instinct first and reflects on his actions later: "His body knows things his mind doesn't. The people around him know things about him that he doesn't know about himself."[5] The author has stated that he wanted the novel to "express the feeling I had that our existence is a physical experience before it is anything else, that all of its other aspects proceed from that physicality".[8]
István's inclination to follow his instincts rather than thinking things through is reflected in his reactive speech patterns. He tends to reply to other people rather than initiating conversations, and when he does talk, he predominantly employs banal phrases such as "yeah" or "I don't know".[5] In the words of one reviewer, this leads to "almost comically minimalist" dialogue in which "István conducts entire conversations saying little except 'Okay'."[3]
Reviewers have noted that István develops more empathy over the years, enabling him to develop more lasting human connections and making him more acceptable to the reader.[4][5][6][3]
Flesh was published on 6 March 2025 byJonathan Cape in the United Kingdom and on 1 April 2025 byScribner in the United States.[9][10]
The novel's critical reception was generally positive and it won the 2025Booker Prize. Author Roddy Doyle, the chair of the judging panel, said that the judges "had never read anything quite like it. It is, in many ways, a dark book but it is a joy to read." Actor and fellow judgeSarah Jessica Parker called it "hypnotically tense and compelling" and "an astonishingly moving portrait of a man's life".[11]
TheAssociated Press says, "Szalay's straightforward, spare prose helps propel the novel as the effects of that tragedy reverberate throughout his life ... The power ofFlesh is Szalay's ability to let these moments speak for themselves, letting these simple interactions tell a tragic story."[6]The Boston Globe called the book "A gentle yet deeply affecting novel about a taciturn man who overcomes abuse and loss early in life to stumble into transitory contentment—if not quite true happiness."[12]
On the Seawall described the book as "a shrewd novel that leverages the unsaid to speak volumes".[13]The Wall Street Journal similarly stated that the scarcity of inner dialogue and character descriptions lent the story a hypnotic effect.[3] SingerDua Lipa selected the novel for hermonthly book club, writing that "InFlesh, David pares speech back to the bone," and yet "despite these spare details, I foundFlesh a tense and gripping read – and by the end, I cared deeply about István."[14]
Regarding the central character's development,The Sunday Times said that "Flesh is a revelatory novel that will make you look afresh at every eastern European doorman or bouncer you encounter."[15]
In a mixed review inThe New York Times,Dwight Garner called the book a "cool, remote novel" about "male alienation: Even as the hero advances toward the redoubts of privilege, he feels like a bystander to his own life, with the detachment of a survivor." Garner concluded by stating: "I admired this book from front to back without ever quite liking it, without ever quite giving in to it."[4] Other reviews were less positive. Cal Revely-Calder, the literary editor ofThe Daily Telegraph, lamented that contemporary fiction editors lack rigor and fail to challenge authors to their full potential. Due to this, he saidFlesh was "half the novel it could have been" and that other nominees – such asKiran Desai'sThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny orAndrew Miller'sThe Land in Winter – were more engrossing and more worthy contenders for the prize.[16]
In November 2025, film rights were optioned by House Productions,BBC Film andAccess Entertainment.[17]