In a landmark moment for contemporary fiction, David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel Flesh, earning global recognition for his daring and unconventional storytelling. This is Szalay’s first Booker win, following his 2016 shortlisting for All That Man Is.

Flesh is a spare yet compelling narrative that traces the life of István, a man whose existence is quietly shaped and disrupted by forces beyond his control. The story begins in a small Hungarian town, where István’s adolescence is marked by an unexpected and illicit relationship. From these early experiences to his later years in the Hungarian army and the dazzling but hollow world of London’s elite, István navigates desire, loss, power, and the search for meaning in a life full of contradictions.

Speaking at the award ceremony in London on 10 November, Szalay said, “There was a sense of risk being taken. And I think it’s very important that we did take those risks. Fiction can take risks— aesthetic, formal, or even moral risks. It’s important the novel community embraces risk.”

David Szalay, the first Hungarian-British author to win the Booker Prize, was born in Canada and has lived in Lebanon, the UK, Hungary, and now Vienna. He is the author of six critically acclaimed novels, translated into over 20 languages, and has also written several BBC radio dramas. His debut, London and the South-East (2008), won both the Betty Trask and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prizes, while All That Man Is earned multiple international accolades.

With its quiet opening—a boy, a move, and a question—Flesh unfolds into a profoundly unforgettable exploration of life’s complexities, cementing Szalay’s reputation as one of contemporary fiction’s most daring and original voices.