Canadian-Hungarian-British author David Szalay wins Booker Prize for ‘Flesh’

Canadian-Hungarian-British writer David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel ‘Flesh’, becoming the first author of Hungarian-British heritage to receive the prestigious literary honour.

Born in Canada, Szalay has lived in Lebanon, the UK, Hungary, and now resides in Vienna. His novel ‘Flesh’ was praised by the judges for its singularity and minimalist yet powerful style. The panel reportedly deliberated for more than five hours before unanimously selecting Flesh as the winning entry.

The Booker jury described ‘Flesh’ as a dark yet deeply moving novel that explores the human condition with remarkable restraint and emotional depth. They noted that Szalay’s writing uses silence and white space to reveal the psychology of its protagonist, István, in strikingly original ways.

Flesh follows István from adolescence to old age, tracing how a series of events shape his life and identity. The story begins in Hungary, where a lonely teenage István forms a complex and forbidden bond with a married neighbour. As the years pass, he moves through the worlds of the military and high finance, caught between love, power, and ambition until his success threatens to unravel him.

Described as both intimate and epic in scope, Flesh examines what drives a life, what makes it worth living, and what ultimately breaks it.

The win cements David Szalay’s place among the leading voices of contemporary fiction, known for his precise prose and profound exploration of modern existence.