Flesh Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025

David Szalay’s literary psychological novel Flesh, volume one of the Flesh: WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025 series, traces the life of István from a quiet Hungarian apartment complex to the heights of London’s super-rich. At fifteen, new in town and shy, István struggles to fit in at school and finds an unexpected bond with a married neighbor, leading to a secret relationship that sends his adolescent world into turmoil. This gripping literary fiction probes the vulnerabilities of youth and the unforeseen consequences of intimate choices.

Later, after a stint in the army, István climbs the echelons of elite society, navigating the currents of twenty-first-century money and power. As he amasses wealth, he confronts a relentless pull between genuine love, intimacy, and the seductive allure of status. Szalay’s psychological narrative examines how chance, luck, and personal decisions shape a life, threatening to unravel the very identity István has built. Flesh is a spare, visceral exploration of what we gain and lose in pursuit of a better self.