Canadian-Hungarian-British author David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for Fiction for his compelling sixth novel, Flesh, a story tracing the life of an ordinary Hungarian man through the decades, where what’s left unsaid becomes as significant as what’s on the page.
Szalay, 51, triumphed over five other finalists, including favourites Andrew Miller and Kiran Desai, to claim the £50,000 ($66,000) award. His victory marks a milestone as he becomes the first author of Hungarian heritage to receive the prestigious literary honour.
Chief judge Roddy Doyle, joined by Sarah Jessica Parker, Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Chris Power, and Kiley Reid, said Szalay’s book stood out “unanimously” among the 153 entries.
“It was the emphatic winner,” Doyle said. “We all really felt this book in particular stood out. We didn’t need a formal vote. Flesh was the book we liked and admired the most. It moved and impressed us and is a very, very special book.”
A life that crosses borders
He was born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and a Hungarian father. Szalay grew up in London and now lives in Vienna, a transnational background that has shaped his fiction. His works often explore displacement, identity, and belonging, themes vividly reflected in Flesh.
Spanning from a Hungarian housing estate to the mansions of London’s elite, the novel follows István, a quiet man whose life unfolds through spare, understated prose. Szalay himself described it as a book about “being a body in the world.”
“I knew I wanted to write a book with a Hungarian end and an English end, since I was living very much between the two countries at the time,” Szalay remarked.
What Flesh is about
The novel chronicles István’s journey from adolescence, beginning with a relationship with an older woman, to his years as a struggling immigrant in Britain, and later, a man of wealth and isolation in London’s high society.
Major life events, including incarceration and wartime service in Iraq, occur “off the page,” a deliberate choice that adds depth and mystery to the storytelling.
“We loved the spareness of the writing,” said Doyle. “We loved how so much was revealed without us being overly aware that it was being revealed. Watching this man grow, age, and learning so much about him, despite him, in a way.”
Flesh has been celebrated for its precision and emotional restraint, with critics highlighting how Szalay’s minimalist prose draws readers into the silences between words. The novel’s unspoken intensity and raw humanity earned it praise from both the judges and the audience.
Previous recognition and critical acclaim
Szalay was previously shortlisted for the 2016 Booker Prize for All That Man Is, a collection of nine interlinked stories exploring the lives of men across Europe. Critics have long praised his ability to portray ordinary lives with extraordinary insight, a strength again evident in Flesh.
Chief Judge Doyle described Flesh as “a dark book, but a joy to read.” Actress and judge Sarah Jessica Parker also expressed her admiration for the shortlisted works, telling the BBC she had read 169 books since December 2024, calling reading “the place I want to be.”
(With agency inputs)
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