David Szalay wins Booker Prize with 'Flesh'

British-Hungarian writer David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel "Flesh" (Jonathan Cape; published in Italy by Adelphi as "Nella carne" on October 7). The work, described as "extraordinary" and "a truly special book," won over the judges of the prestigious literary prize for English-language books published in the United Kingdom with its "sparse writing" and "unsparingly human gaze."

The novel, Szalay's sixth, follows the life of István, a fascinating, enigmatic, and profoundly detached man, from his youth in a working-class Hungarian neighborhood to the world of London high society. The story opens with a shocking episode in the protagonist's adolescence, destined to shape his life. Through dry, unadorned prose, the author explores masculinity, class, migration, trauma, sex, and power.

"It is, in many ways, a dark book, but it is a joy to read," said Roddy Doyle, chairman of the jury and winner of the 1993 Booker Prize. "We were struck by its singularity: it is unlike any other novel. It presents a certain kind of man, and invites us to look behind his face, behind his emotional armor."

Critics and judges praised the restraint and precision of Szalay's style, in which the unsaid becomes an integral part of the narrative. "We liked the restraint of the writing: so much is said without us realizing it," added Doyle. "Pain, for example, is expressed through pauses and blank spaces."

The decision to award Szalay the £50,000 prize was unanimous. In addition to Doyle, the judging panel included actress Sarah Jessica Parker and writers Chris Power, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, and Kiley Reid.

The ceremony was held on the evening of Monday, November 10, at Old Billingsgate in London, where the atmosphere was made even more special by a short film inspired by the novel, accompanied by an original song by rapper Stormzy. Among the most enthusiastic fans of "Flesh" was Dua Lipa, who called the novel "a devastating and beautiful read."

Szalay explained in an article published in the Guardian that the book was "conceived in the shadow of failure": in 2020, he had abandoned another novel he had been working on for nearly four years. "Flesh," he said, was born from a desire to express "the sense that our existence is first and foremost a physical experience, and that all its other dimensions arise from that physicality." The jury called the novel a "meditation on class, power, intimacy, and migration" as well as "a compelling portrait of a man and the formative experiences that shape his entire life."

Szalay topped a strong final six: "Flashlight" by Susan Choi (Jonathan Cape); "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" by Kiran Desai (Hamish Hamilton); "Audition" by Katie Kitamura (Fern Press); "The Rest of Our Lives" by Ben Markovits (Faber & Faber); and "The Land in Winter" by Andrew Miller (Sceptre).

Born in Montreal in 1974 to a Hungarian father and a Canadian mother, Szalay grew up in London and now lives in Vienna. An Oxford graduate, he worked as an advertising salesman in the financial sector, an experience that inspired his debut novel, "London and the South-East." Szalay had already been shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2016 with "All That Man Is" (Adelphi, 2017). With "Flesh," Szalay brings Jonathan Cape its tenth Booker Prize. The same imprint also published the 2024 winner, "Orbital," by Samantha Harvey. (by Paolo Martini)