David Szalay awarded Booker Prize for “Flesh”
Hungarian-British author David Szalay has been awarded the Booker Prize for his novel “Flesh,” a story following a Hungarian émigré who rises to wealth before losing it, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Born in Canada, raised in the UK and currently based in Vienna, Szalay was previously shortlisted for the Booker in 2016 for “All That Man Is”, with “Flesh” being his sixth work of fiction.
The novel tells Istvan's journey, from his youth in Hungary to the difficult years as an immigrant in the UK. Gradually, he becomes part of London's wealthy elite, juggling his goals of standing, intimacy, and personal success. The book raises larger questions concerning factors that influence a person's existence, its worth, and the stresses that may eventually cause it to fall apart.
Szalay’s novel was selected from 153 submissions by a judging panel that included Irish writer Roddy Doyle and actor Sarah Jessica Parker.
“The writing is spare and that is its great strength. Every word matters; the spaces between the words matter. The book is about living, and the strangeness of living and, as we read, as we turn the pages, we’re glad we’re alive and reading – experiencing – this extraordinary, singular novel,” Roddy Doyle, Chair of judges, said about the winning novel.
Alongside the $67,000 main prize, shortlisted writers receive $3300, with the award typically boosting global readership and sales. This year’s shortlist also featured Susan Choi’s family saga "Flashlight", Katie Kitamura’s "Audition", and Ben Markovits’s road-trip novel "The Rest of Our Lives".
Earlier, Kazinform reported that books can make some of us more empathetic and open-minded.
