{"id":41325,"date":"2025-11-10T23:44:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T23:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=41325"},"modified":"2025-11-10T23:44:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T23:44:54","slug":"cr43pp456gyoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2025\/11\/10\/cr43pp456gyoat_mediumrssat_campaignrss\/","title":{"rendered":"David Szalay&#8217;s Flesh wins 2025 fiction award"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<div data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-0 fYJjWP\"><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-11 ljQVMv\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors-contributor-0\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-5 xGeVU\">\n<p><span class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-7 djOqvY\">Ian Youngs<\/span><span data-testid=\"byline-new-contributors-contributor-0-role-location\" class=\"sc-7bfdb3c2-8 gvcwmG\">Culture reporter<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gtLOOD\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Trump-unveils-deals-to-lower-weight-loss-drug-prices.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/cbf2\/live\/1acb9370-be47-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"Getty Images David Szalay holding up the cover of his novel Flesh\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 gnQokQ\">David Szalay has won the Booker Prize for his sixth novel, Flesh <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">British-Hungarian author David Szalay has won this year&#8217;s Booker Prize for his novel Flesh, which the judges described as &#8220;extraordinary&#8221; and &#8220;a very special book&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Flesh tells the story of an alluring, enigmatic and emotionally detached man who is swept through different phases of his life, from a Hungarian housing estate to the world of the ultra-rich in London.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;What we particularly liked about Flesh was its singularity. It&#8217;s just not like any other book,&#8221; said author Roddy Doyle, who chaired the judging panel. &#8220;It&#8217;s a dark book, but we all found it a joy to read.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Actress Sarah Jessica Parker was among the other Booker judges, while Flesh has been championed by Dua Lipa and Stormzy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gXrNRM\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Trump-unveils-deals-to-lower-weight-loss-drug-prices.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762818293_777_David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/d1fd\/live\/facbda90-be45-11f0-afaf-513e6418584c.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762818293_777_David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Getty Images Dua Lipa and David Szalay sitting on a stage in front of microphones\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 gnQokQ\">Dua Lipa interviewed David Szalay at New York Public Library in September<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Szalay told the BBC he was feeling a &#8220;bit dazed&#8221; after winning the prize and it was going to take a while to &#8220;sink in&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;I did maybe too thorough a job of convincing myself that I wasn&#8217;t going to win in order to get through the evening without too much stress, and now I have to catch up a bit in my head,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;But it&#8217;s fantastic, of course.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Stormzy recorded an extract of the book for a short film that was played at the Booker Prize ceremony in London on Monday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">And Dua Lipa described it as a &#8220;tense and gripping read&#8221; when she picked it for her book club last month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Flesh has had rave reviews across the board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Guardian called it a &#8220;brilliantly spare portrait of a man&#8221; and a &#8220;thrilling exploration of what it means to be alive&#8221;, while the Sunday Times praised how Szalay uses &#8220;just one character, Istvan, to tell these three stages of modern man&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">Blank pages<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Critics and judges have also praised Szalay&#8217;s pared-down, minimalist dialogue and descriptions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;We loved the spareness of the writing,&#8221; Doyle explained. &#8220;We loved how so much is revealed without us being overly aware of it being revealed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;It&#8217;s just extraordinary how he uses white space. Grief is depicted by a few blank pages.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Referring to the writing style, Doyle added: &#8220;I found it riveting, and I thought the dialogue was superb &#8211; and the absence of it was superb.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Booker organisers described Flesh as &#8220;a meditation on class, power, intimacy, migration and masculinity&#8221;, and called it &#8220;a compelling portrait of one man, and the formative experiences that can reverberate across a lifetime&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2 class=\"sc-f98b1ad2-0 gXmhTb\">&#8216;Honest and heartbreaking&#8217;<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The judges spent more than five hours discussing the six shortlisted novels before settling on the winner. Doyle said it became &#8220;very clear that this was the book that all five of us liked most&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;They found it spare, disciplined, urgent, honest and heartbreaking,&#8221; said Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">&#8220;With Flesh, they all agreed, David Szalay breaks new ground. I share the judges&#8217; excitement over the work of an author who has been writing with ferocious and stark commitment for many years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Flesh is Szalay&#8217;s sixth novel, and he was previously nominated for the Booker for All That Man Is, another exploration of modern masculinity, in 2016.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">He collected \u00a350,000 as this year&#8217;s winner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The other shortlisted novels were:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 GunZh\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Trump-unveils-deals-to-lower-weight-loss-drug-prices.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 gUePlo hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762818293_360_David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/95dc\/live\/e010ffb0-9888-11f0-b146-278281693603.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1762818293_360_David-Szalays-Flesh-wins-2025-fiction-award.webp.webp?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Yuki Sugiura\/Booker Prize Foundation A stack of the six shortlisted books on a desk\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">Yuki Sugiura\/Booker Prize Foundation<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<ul class=\"sc-6f869981-0 diUlgm\">\n<li class=\"sc-734a601e-0 cRgahm\">Susan Choi &#8211; Flashlight<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-734a601e-0 cRgahm\">Kiran Desai &#8211; The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-734a601e-0 cRgahm\">Katie Kitamura &#8211; Audition<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-734a601e-0 cRgahm\">Ben Markovits &#8211; The Rest of Our Lives<\/li>\n<li class=\"sc-734a601e-0 cRgahm\">Andrew Miller &#8211; The Land in Winter<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Booker Prize is the UK&#8217;s most prestigious fiction award and is open to novels written in the English language.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Past winners include Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Hilary Mantel and Douglas Stuart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#David #Szalays #Flesh #wins #fiction #award<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ian YoungsCulture reporter Getty Images David Szalay has won the Booker Prize for his sixth novel, Flesh British-Hungarian author David&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41325"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41327,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41325\/revisions\/41327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}