British-Hungarian David Szalay wins the 2025 Booker Prize

"Singular" and "extraordinary": the Booker Prize , a prestigious literary prize that rewards works of fiction in English, was awarded Monday evening in London to David Szalay, for his sixth novel Flesh .

He is the first British-Hungarian author to receive this prestigious award, equivalent to the French Goncourt, which comes with a prize of 50,000 pounds (56,800 euros).

Born in 1974 in Montreal (Canada), he succeeds the British Samantha Harvey, who won the prize last year with Orbital , a short work imbued with lyricism that follows six astronauts aboard a space station.

"It's quite a risky book, I felt like I was taking a risk writing it," he said on stage, after searching for his words for several seconds.

Emu, David Szalay recounted that he embarked on writing this novel just after abandoning another literary project. "I felt a lot of pressure because I really wanted this one to be a success," he added.

Described by the jury chairman, Irishman Roddy Doyle, winner of the prize in 1993, as an "extraordinary and singular" novel, Flesh is the story of a tormented masculinity, told through the life of a Hungarian, István, from his adolescence in his native country until his return there in old age, with most of the story taking place in London, where he emigrated.

This exquisitely crafted text follows in the footsteps of one of his previous works, *All That Man Is* , published in French in 2018 under the title *Ce qu'est l'homme* (Albin Michel). In that book, the reader followed nine men aged 17 to 73. It was shortlisted for the 2016 Booker Prize.

Flesh primarily offers a glimpse into the life of an ordinary man. Without ever explicitly discussing masculinity, David Szalay has repeatedly stated that his aim was to write "about life as a physical experience, about what it means to be a living body in the world."

David Szalay, who now lives in Vienna, emerged victorious from a selection process that favored established authors, three of whom had already been finalists for the prestigious prize. He particularly defied predictions that favored the Indian author Kiran Desai and her impressive family saga, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny .

The author, who took 20 years to write this novel, had already made a name for herself in 2006 with The Inheritance of Loss , published in French.

The other major contender was the British author Andrew Miller with The Land in Winter , a text that takes the reader back to the 1960s, to the English countryside where snowstorms rage and the lives of two couples are turned upside down.

American author Susan Choi, known for her novel Flashlight , also went home empty-handed. Her book about the tumultuous life of a family between Japan, Korea, and the United States failed to impress.

Her compatriot Katie Kitamura also failed to make an impact with the highly enigmatic Audition . The same result was achieved by the British-American Ben Markovits and his book The Rest of Our Lives .

The six finalists have a meeting on Tuesday with Queen Camilla, who is involved in promoting reading with her foundation, who will welcome them during a reception also attended by members of the jury.

Awarded since 1969, the Booker Prize has contributed to the success of writers such as Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, and Arundhati Roy. It also promises international renown, synonymous with bestsellers.

New for 2025: the organizers recently announced the launch of the Booker Prize for Children, which aims to reward works of fiction for readers aged 8 to 12, written or translated into English and published in the United Kingdom. The first prize will be awarded in 2027.