💡 David Szalay’s Flesh has become the recipient of the 2025 Booker Prize in what is being heralded as an upset victory. The Hungarian-British writer accepted the award on Monday for his sixth novel — a book that is the culmination of two decades of honing his stripped-down, no-frills prose.

Flesh does more with less. The novel follows István from his teenage years in Hungary through military service, immigration to London, a dizzying rise among the super-rich, and an eventual fall. But here’s what makes it unusual: István barely speaks. His favorite words are “Okay,” and “Yeah.” Entire years of his life — including time in prison and serving in the Iraq War — happen off page. Yet somehow, this creates a reading experience that’s both gripping and strangely moving. As chair of judges Roddy Doyle put it: “I don’t think I’ve read a novel that uses the white space on the page so well. It’s as if the author is inviting the reader to fill the space, to observe — almost to create — the character with him.”

“Stylistically, Flesh is all bone,” wrote The Guardian, a sparsely worded but emotionally acute study of masculinity and male alienation. István becomes fascinating precisely because of what he doesn’t say and can’t confront. While the judges praised Szalay’s commentary on how masculinity often “operates as paralyzing indifference,” they were especially drawn to the novel’s examination of social mobility.

Szalay’s victory caps off an unusual Booker year. For the first time in recent memory, the 2025 shortlist featured no debut authors — instead, it brought together established writers deep into successful careers, with the six finalists having written 41 novels between them. This marked a clear departure from recent years, which had increasingly celebrated first-time novelists and younger voices.

WHERE TO FIND IT- Flesh is available as an ebook on Amazon or Kobo.

Tags: