David Szalay wins Booker Prize with 'extraordinary, singular novel' 'Flesh'

Nearly a decennary aft his 2016 novel, “All That Man Is,” was passed implicit for the Booker Prize, David Szalay has taken location golden with his latest work, “Flesh.”

“Flesh,” Szalay’s sixth novel, follows István, a socially isolated Hungarian teen who done circumstances beyond his power is thrust into London’s precocious echelon. In the coming decades, helium finds himself caught betwixt his traumatic past and increasing appetite for prestige. Szalay is the archetypal Hungarian British writer to person the prestigious award, which helium accepted astatine Monday’s ceremonial successful London with disposable surprise.

“I felt ‘Flesh’ is rather a risky novel, a risky book. It felt risky to maine penning it,” Szalay said successful his acceptance speech.

“I deliberation it’s precise important that the steadfast — the novel-making community, if I tin enactment it similar that — embraces that consciousness of hazard alternatively than shuns it,” helium said.

In the judges’ view, Szalay’s risks much than paid off, yielding an “extraordinary, singular novel.”

“The judges discussed the six books connected the shortlist for much than 5 hours,” said Roddy Doyle, seat of the judging panel. “The publication we kept coming backmost to, the 1 that stood retired from the different large novels, was ‘Flesh’ — due to the fact that of its singularity.”

“We had ne'er work thing rather similar it. It is, successful galore ways, a acheronian publication but it is simply a joyousness to read,” helium said.

Despite chronicling decades of István’s life, “Flesh,” done communicative omissions, leaves readers with an inscrutable protagonist they nevertheless stay profoundly invested in.

“I don’t deliberation I’ve work a caller that uses the achromatic abstraction connected the leafage truthful well,” Doyle said, adding that successful “Flesh,” “Every connection matters; the spaces betwixt the words matter.”

The Booker Prize is an yearly grant fixed to the champion English-language caller published successful the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“Flesh” triumphed implicit 5 different shortlisted books: Kiran Desai’s “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” Andrew Miller’s “The Land successful Winter,” Susan Choi’s “Flashlight,” Katie Kitamura’s “Audition” and Ben Markovits’ “The Rest of Our Lives.”

“Flesh” has besides received praise from writer Zadie Smith and vocalist Dua Lipa, who selected the caller for her Service95 Book Club.

“I don’t deliberation I’ve ever encountered a quality who has truthful small to accidental arsenic István and yet by the extremity of it I cared astir him truthful deeply,” Lipa told Szalay successful an October interrogation astatine the New York Public Library.

During their conversation, Szalay shared that portion “Flesh” was the record sanction for the publication connected his computer, helium ne'er expected it to get to the last press.

Yet his squad couldn’t deliberation of different rubric much fitting for the novel.

“The benignant of flimsy unease that I deliberation it provokes, that consciousness of tawdriness, I deliberation that they truly acceptable the book, ultimately,” Szalay said.