David Szalay

Flesh
11 people recommend this
Recommended by
Hannah RayFirst to rec“This year's booker prize winner in the UK—stunningly read”
Sandy Caribou“I’m deep into my library book addiction and “Flesh” by David Szalay blew my mind. Each chapter could be a stand-alone short story, which makes reading this book have a certain self-contained gorgeous pace and feel. Elements of it reminded me of Sally Rooney, with a little bit of the deep sadness of “A Little Life” sprinkled in. I went in knowing nothing about this book, and read it in 72 hours. If you’re in a slump, give this one a read. It will remind you why you love books and fiction.”
114
James Kylstra“I spoke too soon when I said that Endling was the best book I read this year. This is an astonishingly good book, though dark. An engrossing portrait of a person with the kind of internal life that we don’t often see portrayed in fiction. So glad I read it; I’ll be thinking about it for a while.”
101
Gilda“fave book of 2025”
31
Abbe“A near perfect book.”
2
Laura“Sparse, but rich.”
2
Phoebe Ward2
Hilliary Bianca Salamanca1
Spines, Flicks, and Wax“Winner of the 2025 Book Prize, I appreciated the style of Szalay's writing and the life of main character, Istvan, beginning with his teenage years in Hungary as he adjusts to life in a new town located. We see early on that Istvan just seems to go along with things, which often results in unfortunate consequences throughout his life.”
Anja Tyson
Courtney“Come for the weird sexual exploration stay for the middle aged drama”











