Hungarian-British writer David Szalay wins prestigious Booker Prize for fiction with 'Flesh'

Canadian born Hungarian-British writer David Szalay has won the Booker Prize for fiction for his sixth novel, “Flesh”.

Szalay, 51, beat five other finalists, including Andrew Miller (“The Land in Winter”) and Indian author Kiran Desai (“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny”) to take the coveted literary award, which brings a £50,000 (€57,000) payday and a big boost to the winner’s sales and profile.

He was chosen from 153 submitted novels by a judging panel that included Irish writer Roddy Doyle and Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker. Doyle said “Flesh” - a book “about living, and the strangeness of living” - emerged as the judges’ unanimous choice after a five-hour meeting.

Written in spare prose, “Flesh” is an unconventional rags to riches story about a young man, István, who goes from working-class origins in Hungary to struggling as an immigrant in Britain and eventually achieves mega-wealth and status in London high society. It explores themes of masculinity, class, migration and power.

"What we particularly liked about Flesh was its singularity. It's just not like any other book," said Doyle. "It's a dark book, but we all found it a joy to read."

Szalay said the story grew from “simple, fundamental ingredients.” He knew he "wanted a book that was partly Hungarian and partly English” and was about “life as a physical experience.”

Accepting his trophy at London's Old Billingsgate — a former fish market turned glitzy events venue — Szalay thanked the judges for rewarding his “risky” novel.

He recalled asking his editor “whether she could imagine a novel called ‘Flesh’ winning the Booker Prize.”

“You have your answer," he said.

Founded in 1969 and open to English-language novels from around the world, the Booker Prize has established a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. Winners have included Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood and Samantha Harvey, who took the 2024 prize for space station story “Orbital."