I absolutely flew through this read. The book starts off on a dark theme and I was completely hooked from the first few pages. István is welcomed into the world of manhood in a troubling way, and we follow the repercussions this has on his life.

I’m not sure if the writing will be everyone’s cup of tea. Some of the dialogue is very short and to the point but I think this is cleverly done in that it perfectly suits István’s personality. I’m amazed by the authors ability to create such a tense and complex storyline from such a (to put it bluntly) boring character. There’s hardly any dialogue from István within Flesh but I still felt like I walked through his emotions and could feel the pain he was experiencing.

The author doesn’t show empathy for István and I enjoyed, as the reader, having my own opinion on how I felt about his life. I’m not sure if I liked or disliked the main character, i was in a constant battle of wanting to give him a kick up the arse, infuriated by the way he benefited from the people he randomly came across but then also feeling sorry for him knowing how his younger life started. Which I think speaks volumes for the authors writing 👏🏼

I personally found Flesh a thoroughly enjoyable read that I didn’t want to put down. It made me reflect on how our life can crumble at any given moment and how things can come full circle.

Flesh is a saga of a man's life chronicling a man's life from an illicit childhood affair up until his later years. Our protagonist is unlikeable and often makes questionable choices, leading to tragedy. The story moves through the years quite rapidly by showing us detailed glimpses of various points in his life. As he grows older he delves into themes such as trauma and recovery, infidelity, addiction and more. This is a novel of great breadth, a truly engrossing study of a life and relationships. I did find it was a little lengthy at times and perhaps could have been more concise but this was not detrimental to the novel, and I still very much enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

Flesh is about István whom we first meet as a 15 year old in Hungary before, across ten chapters, following him across his life into his 50s.

Szalay's style in this novel is very unique and, while not for everyone, I devoured the book. At first, I couldn't quite get István, but realised it's because of the way he's written. He seems very passive, very disconnected from what is happening to him. Most of the major events in his life seem to happen to him without him showing much agency.

The pacing is perfect and I think it was this that kept me connected, despite initial misgivings. The novel, and Istvan's life, stayed with me for days afterwards. Loved the novel, happy to recommend.

Bleak and curiously disengaging 3.5 rating

It’s difficult to know how to characterise the role of Istvan, the central character in this story. He is not the hero, he isn’t even particularly and anti-hero, and he certainly isn’t a protagonist, as for pretty well the whole of the novel he is a passive and disengaged character from his own self. Neither is he a victim, even though there is a central event in his adolescence which, the reader might surmise, is the reason for his disassociation and passivity.

Szalay himself does not attempt to engage the reader in empathy for his central character: the style is itself disengaged. In fact, there seems to be little attempt to stir the reader’s emotion. Pretty well all characters seem to be written from outside them. Some writers seem to inhabit the psyches of their creations. Szalay seems always to observe, disengaged.

There are also extreme jumps in time, over the life of Istvan, from 15 to some period probably in his late middle age. These jumps further serve to prevent the reader engaging or feeling

Because of this sense that the reader, like the writer, is observing the character – like the character seems to be observing themselves, there is a sense of dissociation. Perhaps that is the point. There are events in Istvan’s life which did or may have, provoked PTSD. One way PTSD gets dealt with, is by dissociation, as emotional engagement may be too painful to bear.

Curiously it was only very very late in the book, where there is a scene at a weekend market, where momentarily, I engaged with the reality, felt the reality of Istvan. But, perhaps this was a deliberate choice by Szalay, as the event has clearly had a strong emotional hit for Istvan, even though it catches him completely unaware and he can only allow himself to be overwhelmed by a flood of feeling

Reflecting on the book, there are, because of the disengaged style, things which don’t quite make sense : primarily the strong desire pretty well all females experience for Istvan, and the willingness of each to make the running for a man so passive and disinterested, and, with several of them, his sense of not even initially having any desire for them, even, a sense of disgust about them

Also, I found myself unable to suspend disbelief at the mother, and Istvan continuing to live in the original flat after a particular event, particularly as there is no mention at all of previous neighbours, who would surely have had a strong and negative response to Istvan’s presence.

It almost becomes like a complete and utter collection of disengagement everywhere. Humanity under observation without the provocation of the heart, or the viscera’s response

At the start of this novel, we meet István at 15, where he is seduced by a 40-something year old neighbour. An accident happens where the woman's husband dies, and István is blamed and sent away. Throughout this period of the book, Isval's character is very superficially described, but this develops as the book, and his life, matures. I loved how the author did this, creating a surface-only story at the start, where horrific things are happening to István, to a deep exploration of his character later, even when describing more mundane events of his life such as job interviews and affairs...
I really loved this book and have found myself thinking about István and the decisions he made in his life, especially towards the end of the book where he did what was morally right, but resulted in his financial downfall.
Thank you #Netgalley for this ARC

Brilliant novel following Istvan from his teenage sexual awakening with an older woman, into the army, and eventually into the world of the uber-rich in London and the tension that brings. Told in reasonably short chapters that each take a period in his life, his work, his sexual relationships before eliding a period of months or years to kick off again in a new phase, I found Flesh utterly engrossing and read it all in a day. Istvan is a somewhat taciturn and enigmatic central character, at times he can appear a blank slate for others to project their wishes and fantasies on, yet at others his underlying violence and masculinity bubbles to the surface. Highly recommended.

The book starts with a build up to an adolescent love affair with a much older married woman.
It tells a life story about what can and does go wrong but also some things can go right….although not for long.
There were a lot of gaps in the story, almost as if the writer was keeping to a limit on words.
An unhappy, unfulfilled and tragic life.
Not much of a challenge to the storyline

A stunning read. Right from the first page, I was hooked and literally tried to read this book with any spare moment that I had. For many reasons, this book really resonated me. It's really tight focus, the jumping timeline with no warning or justification and the story being told in a frank and bold manner, just creates a book that I now love.
It's unabashed stance and starkness and how it reads without fear or judgement, just makes me love it more. As ever, thank you for the kind publisher for allowing me to read this early, I think I'll buy this book when it released, as it is something that good and thought provoking, that I'd like a physical copy.

This book will probably be a hit with Men's Men.
The book starts off with an adolescent love affair, with plenty of description of sex.
Then things go wrong, prison, the army and dead end jobs, then the main character strikes it lucky, he saves somebody's life.
He then is set up as a millionaire's security man, and starts living the high life.
Nothing lasts forever, and things go full circle.
I liked it. There are lots of good passages and themes, the characters are good strong characters, for my taste though the events were too easily guessed.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I managed to read only 50% of this. I found the writing style hard to connect with and I wasn't engaged by the storytelling or plot. There was a disconnect with the writing for me that just didn't improve.

I was intrigued by this novel and was kindly sent an eARC. Sadly the novel opens with some quite detailed explicit scenes between a 15-year-old boy and 42-year-old woman, which I am not about to get onboard with.

This book was unlike anything I have ever read before. The author somehow creates such an interesting and complex character out of a gentleman who, quite frankly, has little to no personality at all. At least not one that he shows to people.

The novel follows said character from his younger teen years onward, all the relationships he creates along the way and his various life experiences.

The writing is blunt, straight to the point, and yet I could not stop reading this book. Something about it had me in its grip, and I found myself really caring for our main character by the end.

I will say that because the writing is so straightforward, this book will not be for everyone. But if you’re after a unique character study that’s very easy to read, this could be the one for you.

The novel takes a close, almost clinical look at the lives of several interconnected characters, delving into their physical and emotional vulnerabilities. Szalay’s writing is sharp, evocative, and introspective, capturing the complexities of human experience with precision and nuance. The novel often feels unsettling in its portrayal of the body’s inevitable decline, yet it’s also oddly tender in its moments of connection. It's a thought-provoking read that lingers, challenging readers to reflect on their own relationship with their bodies and the passage of time.
I found this a very interesting book to read. Very thought provoking.

This is the story of Istvan and starts with him in Hungary as a fifteen year old and follows him throughout his life, his loves and his ups and downs. He travels through various experiences and countries and ends up in London where his convoluted relationships build and unravel. The power of money infiltrates his life and it is a compelling read. It is thought provoking and questions our choices in life and the complexity of relationships. A great novel with more than a touch of existentialism.

Flesh is a curious read.- stark - direct - but pulls you in

Following the life of 15 year old István - a lonely boy living with his mother in a Hungarian town- the story follows his first troubled steps into adulthood. He finds himself in a relationship with am older married woman which confuses and troubles him until it leads to an action that alters the course of his future.

Life eventually takes him to the world of the rich in London during the noughties and into the 2010's and the pandemic.

Each chapter follows a significant next step in his life's trajectory: highlighting the excesses of living in a bubble of wealth- the turbulent and mixed relationships within this world - his employers; future wife; stepson and his own child.

After the first chapter, there was a feeling of being unsettled by the content and wondering how much despair and hardship could be endured but once István's journey arrives in London the story hooks as to how he will survive an unknown city that seems to offer itself to all

In some senses this feels like a morality tale - a fable about the desire to have more; improve your world and maintaining the facade and how it can all crumble in an instant.

David Szalay's writing is sparse, poignant , dark and in some senses brutal- the exploration of sexuality and the rawness of finding who you are is unsettling-..ultimately revealing the damage that early events can have on the older self. Empathy with István swings from event to event. What will become of him ? How will he survive the rollercoaster of living he joins?

This novel reflects the world today - the ideal of money, success and prosperity equating to success and the fallacy of it all.

A powerful and provocative read.

David Szalay first came to my attention in 2016 when his short story collection “All That Man Is” was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The collection itself had different protagonists who progressed though ages and had themes of European travel, life on the periphery and the crisis of masculinity. His next collection “Turbulence” was published in 2018 – a series of linked up vignettes based around European air travel.

This, his latest due to be published in 2025, has many of the same ideas – vignettes across a life (from age 15 until into the 60s), a theme of modern masculinity, European travel – but this time in very much a novel format as the vignettes are from the life of the same character István.

An excerpt from the novel – effectively I believe its third chapter – was published in the New Yorker in December 2024 and the accompanying interview with Szalay is an excellent summary of the distinctive approach he has taken with: the character of the protagonist of this novel (passive, more a recipient than instigator of actions); the narrative style (deliberately pared back and straightforward); the dialogue (choppy, short interactions often marked by evasion or omission); the lack of interiority of the narrator – despite being effectively a close third person point of view we know far more about what is happening to his body than what he is thinking or feeling.

Some excerpts from the interview

"István does not affect history, history affects István ……. I suppose I’d regard that kind of relationship, of the individual human being to events outside their control, as something universal, and the vital question is how we deal with being on the receiving end of it—how we deal with it practically, emotionally, even spiritually, ultimately. It’s the question raised by classical tragedy …….. The story is also about numbness, which is also quite difficult to talk about in a compelling way. It has to be achieved by a process of cumulative suggestion. So the narrative style tries to express it. The lack of significant communication between the characters, as well ………… An inarticulate protagonist—a protagonist who isn’t much given to verbally analyzing his own experience—seemed to provide an opportunity to approach things another way, indirectly or suggestively. What’s not said is as important, in this story and in the novel as a whole, as what is ………….. István’s relationship to his body is central to the novel, I think. Although the very form of the question—which separates István from his body—to some extent takes us away from the novel’s point of view, which is that István basically is his body. In other words, the novel, and the story published here, try to look at life as, first and foremost, a physical experience. They explore the idea that physical experience is primary, and that most other kinds of experience that we might have follow from that."

The novel opens when István is fifteen and seduced by a forty-something year old neighbour who (at this mother’s request) he helps with her shopping – an affair described I have to say in far too much detail and which means that the novel for me got off to a very rocky start – when István starts to talk about love, the neighbour breaks things off leading to a fateful confrontation with her husband.

In the second chapter after István has left a young offenders institution he falls in with a small cross-border smuggling gang, drifts around and then is forced by his mother (setting up a recurring theme that she is the driver for much of his life choices) to get a job and “unable to find anything else, he he joins the army”.

The aforementioned third chapter starts with he and his Hungarian colleagues travelling back from the Iraq war and after some more sexual encounters (another recurring theme) he takes a job at a winery only to end in hospital after he suddenly punches the wall. The Doctor that treats him is an old schoolmate, and as well as the encounter eventually leading to him seeing a therapist about an incident in Iraq where he was unable to save a colleague from an IED and from which he is now suffering PTSD and being successfully prescribed anti-depressants, it also causes him to at least partly develop some ambition (as he contrasts his life choices and current situation with the Doctors).

We then next join him in England – where he has gone presumably taking advantage of the EU freedom of movement, although even there he is less successful and settled than he had hoped – drifting into a job as a bouncer at a strip club before a chance encounter with someone being mugged gets him a job working for an agency providing drivers and bodyguards to the rich – and the start of his own rise (the man he rescued giving him a crash course in to how to blend in among privilege).

The fifth chapter he his now working full time for a super rich (private jet and helicopter, London luxury pad, country estate) couple where he has a brief affair with the couple’s child’s Nanny and a much longer one with the wife, an affair which continues and becomes riskier as the husband undergoes treatment in a private German clinic for advanced cancer.

And this, just over half way through the novel, is where for me the novel rather changes:

Not necessarily for the worse: to be honest the flatness of the prose, the denuded dialogue, the physicality and masculinity – while all deliberate – are almost the opposite of what I want in a novel. In terms of the dialogue, István’s favourite answer is “Okay” – a word which appears no less than 340 times in the novel

But also not necessarily for the better: as its almost as though Szalay loses some of his focus/intent and further the story enters the realms of the elite/super rich in a way which takes it away from most lived experience and reminded me of the flaws of Andrew O’Hagan’s Caledonian Road – with which it seems to have a lot of overlap as we end up in a story of István now married to his ex employer turning into (partly of course at his mother’s suggestion) a slightly shady property developer trying to call in political favours and also taking advantage of his step-son (who has never reconciled to his suspected affair and then resented marriage to his now widowed mother) and the trust fund he will receive when twenty five but which his mother can manage before that. This latter detail seems rather far fetched and a terrible car crash, a further affair (with about the only named female other than his mother he has not slept with), a near fatal drug overdose and then the resurfacing of István’s latent violence only stretch this lengthy section to and beyond the point of melodrama

So that it is a relief when we rejoin in the last chapter István back in Hungary, living with his mother, working in a dead end job, having a desultory affair (of course) and saying things are “okay”.

And so is this book – okay.

Flesh by David Szalay is an engrossing novel that explores themes of intimacy, the immigrant experience, failures and successes in life.

Istvan is a 15 year old school =boy in Hungary when we meet hiiiii, he's an awkward boy who finds it difficult to fit in at school. His mother makes him help out their neighbour with her shopping and the older woman, whose husband is disabled, starts to hit on Istvan and soon a torrid but abusive sexual relationship is happening. When Istvan declares himself to be in love she rejects him and shortly after, in his confused rage, he pushes the husband down the stairs to his death. We follow Istvan's life through young offender;'s institute, the army, into a security job, and through a stroke of good fortune, into high end security where he meets lots of rich people and eventually becomes immensely rich himself. Istvan is noty a bad man, but his life is buffeted by events and he discovers that a good deed can be rewarded with gratitude or with rageful disdain. this is a great life story, well told.

A modern novel tracing the life and loves of Istavan a Hungarian man living at first with his mother.The story follows his life from time in a young offenders institute following an affair with an older married woman.through army service and marriage to a wealthy woman in London and finally back to where it all began in Hungary. The book contains many instances of sex and some of violence as his life in England begins to fall apart.
the writing style is straightforward and at times lacks detail but this did not detract from the storytelling.
A book I found interesting without it being exceptional

Thank you for introducing me to this author. I found the writing style very dry, and Istavan very elusive, both in the story, and in his conversations. It felt as if it was building up to something exciting, but the tone continued through the book.
I did enjoy reading it. It makes a change to read about someone to whom life happens, and I liked the reflections at the end of the book, when Istavan was looking back at his life and the people who had been in it.
Recommended.