Article image

The Singular Anatomy of a Life David Szalay’s Flesh and the New European Novel

Monday, 10 November 2025 23:23

Summary

David Szalay, the Hungarian-British author, secured the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel, 'Flesh,' a work the judges unanimously praised for its 'singularity' and 'extraordinary' nature . The novel is a decades-spanning portrait of a Hungarian man named István, tracing his journey from a communist-era housing estate to the gilded enclaves of London's super-rich . Szalay’s sixth work of fiction, 'Flesh' continues his thematic preoccupation with contemporary masculinity, class, and alienation, subjects he previously explored in his 2016 Booker-shortlisted collection, 'All That Man Is' . The judging panel, chaired by Roddy Doyle, highlighted the novel's spare, unshowy prose and its innovative use of 'white space' to convey the protagonist's emotional detachment and inner life . Szalay, who was considered a dark horse against established names like Kiran Desai, became the first Hungarian-British writer to claim the prestigious £50,000 award at the ceremony in London . The win signals a significant moment for a style of European fiction that prioritises formal risk and a stark, anthropological gaze on the pressures of late capitalism and modern identity .

The Unanimous Verdict

The announcement of David Szalay as the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel 'Flesh' on the evening of Monday, 10 November 2025, marked the culmination of a six-hour deliberation by the judging panel . The ceremony, held at Old Billingsgate in London, saw the Hungarian-British author receive the £50,000 cash prize and the Booker trophy from the previous year’s winner, Samantha Harvey . Roddy Doyle, the Irish writer and chair of the 2025 judges, revealed that the decision to select 'Flesh' was unanimous, a rare occurrence in the history of the prize . Doyle, himself a Booker winner in 1993, was the first previous recipient to chair the judging panel . The panel, which also included actor and publisher Sarah Jessica Parker and writers Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Chris Power, and Kiley Reid, praised the novel for its 'singularity' . Doyle stated that the judges 'had never read anything quite like it,' noting that the book stood out from the other strong contenders on the shortlist . The chair of the judges described the novel as being 'about living, and the strangeness of living,' adding that it was a 'joy to read' despite its dark subject matter . Szalay’s victory was considered something of a dark horse win, as bookmakers had favoured other shortlisted authors, including the previous winner Kiran Desai . The win also secured a record for the publisher Jonathan Cape, which claimed its tenth Booker Prize victory and its second in a row . Szalay, who is 51, became the first Hungarian-British writer to be awarded the prize . In his acceptance speech, Szalay spoke about the power of fiction to take 'aesthetic, formal, and moral risks,' reflecting on the creative doubts he had overcome while writing the novel . He mentioned that he had started 'Flesh' immediately after abandoning another project, which created a significant sense of pressure to succeed with the new work . The author’s reflection on risk-taking resonated with the judges’ comments, which highlighted the novel’s formal innovation .

The Anatomy of István’s Journey

The narrative of 'Flesh' is a decades-spanning chronicle of a single life, following the protagonist, István, from his adolescence in 1980s Hungary to his late-middle age . The novel begins with István as a fifteen-year-old living with his mother in a quiet apartment complex in Hungary . Shy and alienated in his new town, the teenager is drawn into a complex, secret affair with an older, married neighbour, an event that sets his life on an irreversible course . This formative experience, which ends in tragedy and a stint in a juvenile facility, leaves István with a criminal record that prevents him from securing a civilian job, leading him to enlist in the army . The novel then charts his rocky, upward trajectory through the social and economic landscape of contemporary Europe . István’s career path takes him from military service to working as a bouncer and a bodyguard, eventually leading him into the orbit of London’s super-rich elite . He marries one of his charges, a wealthy businessman’s wife named Helen, and adopts a monied life as a property developer . This rags-to-riches story is not one of triumph, but rather a meditation on the invisible forces of class, nationality, and fate that shape a life . The novel’s structure is divided into ten distinct parts, which collectively follow István’s life through success and subsequent downfall, ultimately returning him to a solitary existence, more or less where he began, but profoundly changed . The narrative is described as propulsive and compelling, sustaining the reader’s engagement despite the protagonist’s emotional detachment . The story is a profound exploration of what drives a life, what makes it worth living, and the forces that can ultimately break it .

A New Language for Masculine Alienation

David Szalay has been consistently recognised as a shrewd chronicler of contemporary masculinity, a theme that 'Flesh' extends and deepens . The novel’s central subject is male alienation, portraying István as a man who feels like a bystander to his own life, detached even as he advances into the redoubts of privilege . The author’s aim was to be as honest as possible about the experience of being a 'male body in the world,' focusing on the physical and emotional realities of his protagonist . István is presented as an inscrutable, monosyllabic figure, a character who is not articulate and cannot easily explain the significance of his own story . This lack of verbal expression is a deliberate stylistic choice, which the judges found to be one of the novel’s greatest strengths . The writing is characterised by its 'spare prose' and 'pared-back narration,' which invites the reader to fill the emotional and psychological gaps left by the protagonist’s silence . Roddy Doyle specifically highlighted the novel’s innovative use of 'white space' on the page, suggesting that the absence of words allows the reader to observe and almost create the character alongside the author . The novel’s depiction of grief, for instance, is conveyed through several blank pages, a formal risk that the judges praised . This stylistic legerdemain, which operates at the level of the sentence and the spaces between them, is a key element of Szalay’s literary achievement . The novel’s exploration of István’s life is a meditation on male sexuality, violence, and the tension between a man’s desires and the constraints of his social class and background . The narrative suggests that an exploitative society fosters uncommunicative and unmoored men, with István’s emotional detachment sustained by the tremendous movement of the plot . The novel’s title, 'Flesh,' speaks to the author’s desire to write about life as a physical experience, even as the protagonist remains detached from his own body and desires .

A Pan-European Canvas

Szalay’s work is deeply rooted in a pan-European sensibility, a characteristic that is central to the scope and themes of 'Flesh' . The author, who was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and a Hungarian father, grew up in London and has lived in various European locations, including Vienna and Hungary . This transnational background informs the novel’s setting, which shuttles between a Hungarian housing estate and the mansions of the English elite . The author intended the book to be, to some extent, a novel about contemporary Europe, specifically addressing the cultural and economic divides that characterise the continent . The protagonist, István, embodies this theme of migration and displacement, being a character who is 'not quite at home in either place'—neither his native Hungary nor his adopted London . His journey from the post-communist East to the capitalist West highlights the precarity and violence of an ever-globalising Europe . The novel’s engagement with metaphysical ideas and its unflinching approach to carnal matters also contribute to its distinctly European feel . The story of István’s life, which is born along by the self-interest of strangers and the tides of money and power, serves as a microcosm of the broader social and economic transformations of the 21st century . The novel’s focus on class and power is evident in István’s rise, which is less a story of aspiration and more a chronicle of a man being carried along by forces beyond his control . The novel’s success underscores a growing critical interest in fiction that maps the complexities of modern European identity, migration, and the enduring tension between East and West .

The Competition and Context of the Prize

The 2025 Booker Prize was selected from a longlist of 13 books, which was itself whittled down from a starting pool of 153 submissions . The six-book shortlist represented a diverse array of international talent, all writing in English and published in the UK or Ireland between October 2024 and September 2025 . David Szalay’s 'Flesh' competed against five other distinguished novels . The shortlist included 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny' by Kiran Desai, a previous Booker winner in 2006 for 'The Inheritance of Loss' . Desai’s novel, which took twenty years to complete, traverses the US, India, Italy, and Mexico, following two Indian-born migrants . Andrew Miller, who had been shortlisted before, was nominated for 'The Land in Winter,' an atmospheric domestic drama set during the 'Big Freeze' of 1963 in the south-west of England . The American novelist Susan Choi was shortlisted for 'Flashlight,' a mystery that expands into an intimate family drama spanning decades and continents . Katie Kitamura’s 'Audition' was described as an exhilarating and destabilising novel that questions the extent to which people truly know their loved ones . Finally, 'The Rest of Our Lives' by British-American writer Benjamin Markovits was an unforgettable road trip novel about a middle-aged academic facing the failure of his marriage, career, and body . The judges’ decision to select Szalay’s novel, despite the strong competition from established names and diverse narratives, underscored their commitment to a work that took formal and aesthetic risks . The Booker Prize, which has long been a global platform for fiction, continued its legacy of celebrating works that map love, loss, and belonging across continents .

Conclusion

The victory of 'Flesh' at the 2025 Booker Prize ceremony is more than an accolade for David Szalay; it is a validation of a particular kind of literary ambition . The novel’s success celebrates a style of writing that is spare, disciplined, and unshowy, yet capable of conveying profound emotional and social truths . By tracing the life of István, an emotionally detached man carried by the currents of migration and class, Szalay has created a compelling portrait of modern male alienation and the pressures of late capitalism . The judges’ praise for the novel’s 'singularity' and its innovative use of silence and white space suggests a shift in critical appreciation toward formal experimentation that demands active participation from the reader . Szalay’s win, as the first Hungarian-British author to claim the prize, also highlights the increasingly transnational nature of English-language fiction and its capacity to explore the complex cultural and economic divides within contemporary Europe . The novel stands as a testament to the power of fiction to take risks and to offer an unflinching, anthropological gaze on the human condition .

References

  1. The Booker Prize 2025 Winners LIVE Updates: And the winner is Flesh by David Szalay

    Used to verify the winner, the date of the win (Nov 10, 2025), Szalay's background (Hungarian-British, born in Canada, lives in Vienna), his previous Booker shortlisting, and the judges' comment on the novel's 'singularity'.

  2. The Booker Prize 2025 shortlist

    Used to list the full six-book shortlist for the 2025 Booker Prize.

  3. David Szalay wins Booker prize with 'extraordinary and singular' novel Flesh

    Used to confirm the unanimous decision, the date (Nov 10, 2025), the judges' praise for its 'singularity,' the novel's focus on an inscrutable Hungarian man, and Szalay's comments on fiction taking risks.

  4. David Szalay's Flesh wins the Booker Prize - New Statesman

    Used for the £50,000 prize amount, Roddy Doyle's quote on the book being about 'living, and the strangeness of living,' the novel's pan-European flavour, its focus on contemporary Europe's cultural and economic divides, and the themes of masculinity and uncommunicative men.

  5. The Best Novels of 2025: The Booker Prize Shortlist - Five Books

    Used to confirm the full shortlist and the names of the authors and titles, including Susan Choi's 'Flashlight' and Katie Kitamura's 'Audition'.

  6. Booker Prize 2025: the six shortlisted books, reviewed by experts | RNZ

    Used for details on Kiran Desai's 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny' (twenty years in the making, set between US/India/Italy/Mexico) and Andrew Miller's 'The Land in Winter' (set during the 'Big Freeze' of 1963).

  7. Booker Prize 2025: David Szalay wins for Flesh - The Irish Times

    Used for the six-hour discussion detail, Roddy Doyle's quote on the book's singularity and darkness, the judges' names, Szalay's background (Canadian mother, Hungarian father), and the novel's themes of male sexuality, violence, migration, class, and power. Also confirms Jonathan Cape's record 10th win.

  8. Flesh Book Summary: A Raw Journey of Class & Desire

    Used for the novel's core idea of István's life being a negotiation between desires, class, and fate, and the plot structure of ten distinct parts covering his entire adult life.

  9. The Booker Prize 2025: The longlist

    Used to confirm the total number of books considered (153) and the longlist size (13), and the names of the judges.

  10. David Szalay wins 2025 Booker prize for 'dark' Flesh - The Guardian

    Used to confirm the novel is Szalay's sixth work of fiction and traces István's life from youth to midlife.

  11. Everything you need to know about Flesh by David Szalay, winner of the Booker Prize 2025

    Used for Roddy Doyle's detailed comments on the novel's 'singularity,' the use of 'white space,' the absence of István's words, and the depiction of grief through blank pages. Also confirms István's age at the start (15) and the novel's spare but propulsive nature.

  12. 'We had never read anything quite like it': David Szalay wins Booker Prize 2025 for Flesh

    Used to confirm Szalay as the first Hungarian-British winner, the 'rags-to-riches' tale, the themes of class and power, István's move from the army to London's super-rich, Szalay's previous shortlisting, and his quote about wanting to write a book about a character 'not quite at home in either place'.

  13. Szalay wins 2025 Booker Prize for “Flesh” | Books+Publishing

    Used to confirm the novel's spare prose, its span from a Hungarian housing estate to London mansions, István's emotional detachment, and Roddy Doyle's quote about the white space and the book being about 'living, and the strangeness of living'.

  14. David Szalay's Flesh has won the 2025 Booker Prize. - Literary Hub

    Used to confirm the judges' names and the total number of books considered (153).

  15. Flesh - Quill and Quire

    Used for the detailed plot points: István's affair with the 42-year-old neighbour, the death, the stint in juvie, his subsequent enlistment in the army, his work as a bouncer/bodyguard, marrying Helen, and becoming a property developer. Also confirms the novel's linear structure and Szalay's stylistic focus on the sentence level.

  16. Flesh | Book by David Szalay | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

    Used for the description of István as a man 'at odds with himself,' estranged from his life's circumstances, and the theme of male alienation and inchoate longing for meaning.

  17. David Szalay wins 2025 Booker Prize marking second victory in a row for Jonathan Cape

    Used to confirm the date (Nov 10th), the unanimous decision, the judges' praise for the novel's spareness and how it depicts grief, the total number of books considered (153), and the novel's themes of class, power, intimacy, migration, and masculinity.

  18. Flesh by David Szalay - Goodreads

    Used to confirm the novel's themes of unresolved trauma and its aftermath amid the precarity and violence of an ever-globalizing Europe.

  19. Reading guide: Flesh by David Szalay | The Booker Prizes

    Used for the synopsis of István's life, including his affair with the neighbour, his rise to the company of London's super-rich, his marriage to Helen, and the profound questions the book asks about what drives a life. Also confirms Szalay's quote about writing about life as a physical experience.