Flesh

A Novel

De: David Szalay

Narrado por: Daniel Weyman

WINNER OF THE 2025 BOOKER PRIZE

Finalist for the Kirkus Prize | Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence

From “the shrewdest writer on contemporary masculinity we have” (Esquire), a “captivating...hypnotic...virtuosic” (The Baffler) novel about a man whose life veers off course due to a series of unforeseen circumstances.

Teenaged István lives with his mother in a quiet apartment complex in Hungary. Shy and new in town, he is a stranger to the social rituals practiced by his classmates and is soon isolated, drawn instead into a series of events that leave him forever a stranger to peers, his mother, and himself. In the years that follow, István is born along by the goodwill, or self-interest, of strangers, charting a rocky yet upward trajectory that lands him further from his childhood, and the defining events that abruptly ended it, than he could possibly have imagined.

A collection of intimate moments over the course of decades, Flesh chronicles a man at odds with himself—estranged from and by the circumstances and demands of a life not entirely under his control and the roles that he is asked to play. Shadowed by the specter of past tragedy and the apathy of modernity, the tension between István and all that alienates him hurtles forward until sudden tragedy again throws life as he knows it in jeopardy.

“Spare and detached on the page, lush in resonance beyond it” (NPR), Flesh traces the imperceptible but indelible contours of unresolved trauma and its aftermath amid the precarity and violence of an ever-globalizing Europe with incisive insight, unyielding pathos, and startling humanity.

Narration

I had high hopes for this book but it fell woefully short. The dialog was so mundane…. Primarily made up of “ok”, “yeah” and “sure”. It was painful to listen to and get through. The book was really a narration with a few dialog lines thrown in. Very disappointed that I wasted a credit

Masterful technique

I can’t explain how this author’s spare prose and monosyllabic dialogue produces a riveting story with distinct characters that’s fast paced and compelling. The vocal performance is delightful and filled with humor, pathos and distinctive character voices. This 2025 Booker Prize winner was worthy of its accolades.

Conflicted Intrigue

Hmmm… A dozen great take-offs, with zero smooth landings. I’m probably just too unsophisticated to appreciate the true art and inner meaning…

Hard To Imagine

Disappointed. Really the Booker??? Hard to imagine..
The reader was great and made it tolerable. While praised for the simplicity of the sentence structure I found the story slow and boring.

The organization of this storyline and the presentation of passing time

I especially liked the creative shadowing of events. It was when mail power was expressed the disaster followed. I also like the way rules of women were displayed.