{"id":269846,"date":"2025-11-11T08:56:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/?p=269846"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:00:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T22:00:14","slug":"david-szalay-2025-booker-prize-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.russh.com\/david-szalay-2025-booker-prize-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"David Szalay wins the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel, ‘Flesh’"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Szalay has won prestigious Booker Prize for 2025 for their novel, Flesh<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The book (which is Szalay’s sixth)\u00a0 rose above a shortlist of compelling voices and styles \u2013 from global journeys to intimate psychological landscapes \u2013 each one standing out in unique an bold ways.<\/p>\n

The Booker Prize was presented in London, with all six finalists<\/a> in attendance for the occasion \u2013 including Flesh<\/em> by David Szalay; The Land<\/em> in Winter by Andrew Miller; The Rest of Our Lives<\/em> by Ben Markovits; Audition<\/em> by Katie Kitamura; The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny<\/em> by Kiran Desai; and Flashlight<\/em> by Susan Choi. Also in attendance were this years judges, including Sarah Jessica Parker (yes, Carrie Bradshaw), who famously read two books per day to prepare for the role, as well as Roddy Doyle, Ay\u1ecd\u0300b\u00e1mi Ad\u00e9b\u00e1y\u1ecd\u0300, Kiley Reid, and Chris Power.<\/p>\n

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What is Flesh<\/em> about?<\/h3>\n

The novel charts the life of teenager Istv\u00e1n, from an isolated teenager to adulthood, as he is “unravelled by a series of events beyond his grasp.” Among them, time spent serving in the military, an affair with an older neighbour, immigrating from Hungary to London, and eventually, a return to the town where he grew up.<\/p>\n

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What does the winner get?<\/h3>\n

Up for grabs is a \u00a350,000 prize, as well as several eyes on their novel. Previous winners have gone on to reach best-seller status, including Life of Pi<\/em> by Yann Martel, and Girl, Woman, Other<\/em> by Bernardine Evaristo.<\/p>\n

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Who else has won the Booker Prize?<\/h3>\n

Some of the biggest names in publishing have taken home this award before. Among them, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Hilary Mantel, Arundhati Roy and Roddy Doyle \u2013 who is the chair of this year’s judging panel.<\/p>\n

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