‘Flesh’ by David Szalay: A Masterful Exploration of Humanity That Secured the Booker Prize

Award-Winning Novel Delves Into Life’s Fragility Through Interconnected Stories

In a literary landscape often dominated by experimental forms and political narratives, David Szalay’s “Flesh” emerges as a profound meditation on human vulnerability that has captured both critical acclaim and the prestigious 2023 Booker Prize. The novel, Szalay’s fifth, weaves together seemingly disparate lives across continents and circumstances, creating a tapestry that ultimately reveals the universal experience of inhabiting fragile human bodies. Through precisely crafted prose and unflinching examinations of mortality, the Hungarian-Canadian author has produced what the Booker judges called “a novel of extraordinary ambition and range” that “expands our sense of what fiction can do.”

The power of “Flesh” lies not only in its structural innovations but in Szalay’s remarkable ability to render the physical experience of being human with startling clarity. Each chapter functions as a self-contained story, introducing readers to characters navigating moments of physical vulnerability: a young father discovering a potentially cancerous lump, an elderly man experiencing cognitive decline, a woman giving birth under harrowing circumstances. Rather than sensationalizing these experiences, Szalay approaches them with clinical precision and emotional intelligence, creating moments of recognition that transcend cultural and geographical boundaries. “What interests me is the universality of embodiment,” Szalay explained in his Booker acceptance speech. “We all experience life through these temporary vessels, these bodies that connect us even as they isolate us from one another.”

The Architecture of Vulnerability: How Szalay Constructs His Narrative

Szalay’s approach to structure represents a significant evolution from his earlier work, particularly his acclaimed 2016 novel “All That Man Is.” While that earlier work examined masculinity across nine stories featuring men at different life stages, “Flesh” broadens its scope to include characters of all genders, ages, and backgrounds, connected not by direct relationships but by the fundamental experience of physical existence. The novel begins with a seemingly ordinary medical appointment in London and expands outward to encompass scenes in Tokyo, Nairobi, Buenos Aires, and rural Canada. This global perspective allows Szalay to explore how cultural contexts shape our relationship with our bodies while simultaneously highlighting the universal nature of physical vulnerability.

What distinguishes “Flesh” from similar multi-perspective narratives is Szalay’s refusal to provide neat resolutions or explicit connections between stories. Instead, echoes and resonances emerge organically: a character’s fear of cancer in one chapter mirrors another’s confrontation with aging; a birth scene finds its counterpoint in a death; moments of physical pleasure counterbalance instances of pain. Literary critic James Wood noted in his review for The New Yorker that “Szalay achieves something remarkable here—a novel that feels simultaneously fragmented and whole, much like the human body itself.” This architectural precision creates a reading experience that mimics life’s unpredictability while maintaining a coherent artistic vision.

The Language of Embodiment: Szalay’s Stylistic Achievements

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of “Flesh” is Szalay’s prose style, which achieves a delicate balance between clinical detachment and profound empathy. His sentences are spare, precise, and devoid of sentimentality, yet they capture the most intimate aspects of physical existence with startling accuracy. Consider his description of childbirth: “The pain was not pain as she had known it before. It was something else entirely, as if her body had become a separate entity, one determined to tear itself apart with or without her permission.” This combination of medical precision and emotional resonance characterizes Szalay’s approach throughout the novel.

The author’s background proves particularly relevant to his stylistic choices. Before turning to fiction, Szalay worked briefly in medical publishing, an experience that informed his understanding of the body’s mechanics and the language used to describe physical processes. This knowledge allows him to write with authority about medical procedures, bodily functions, and physical sensations without resorting to euphemism or melodrama. “There’s a tendency in contemporary fiction to either aestheticize the body or to politicize it,” notes literary scholar Sarah Hammond. “What Szalay does instead is to simply observe it with extraordinary attention, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about what these physical experiences mean.”

Critical Reception and Cultural Context: Why ‘Flesh’ Resonated in 2023

The Booker Prize selection of “Flesh” marks a significant moment in contemporary literature, signaling a renewed interest in fiction that grapples with fundamental human experiences rather than chasing trending topics or stylistic innovations. In a literary era often characterized by novels addressing climate change, political polarization, and technological dystopias, Szalay’s focus on the body offers a different kind of relevance. As Booker chair of judges Esi Edugyan remarked, “In a time of global uncertainty, Szalay reminds us of what truly connects us—our shared experience of inhabiting vulnerable bodies in an indifferent world.”

Critical reception of “Flesh” has been overwhelmingly positive, with reviewers particularly noting the novel’s emotional impact despite its restrained style. The Guardian called it “a quiet masterpiece about the loudest of subjects—our mortality,” while The Times Literary Supplement praised Szalay’s “remarkable ability to write about physical experience in ways that feel simultaneously universal and deeply intimate.” Some critics have placed “Flesh” within a broader literary tradition of novels exploring interconnected lives across global settings, comparing it to works by David Mitchell and Jennifer Egan, while others have highlighted its unique focus on embodiment as its distinguishing feature. What emerges from this critical consensus is recognition of Szalay as a writer at the height of his powers, creating fiction that speaks to fundamental aspects of human experience while pushing the boundaries of narrative form.

The Author’s Journey: From Literary Outsider to Booker Winner

For Szalay, the Booker Prize represents the culmination of an unusual literary trajectory. Born in Canada to Hungarian parents and raised primarily in England, Szalay brings a naturally transnational perspective to his fiction. His early novels received positive reviews but limited commercial success until 2016’s “All That Man Is,” which was shortlisted for the Booker and brought his work to international attention. “Flesh” cements his reputation as one of the most significant writers of his generation, particularly notable for his ability to write across cultural boundaries with authority and sensitivity.

In accepting the Booker Prize, Szalay reflected on what drives his fiction: “I’m interested in what it means to be human in the most literal sense—to experience life through these particular assemblages of tissue and nerve endings we call bodies.” This focus on embodiment rather than identity politics or cultural specificity allows “Flesh” to achieve a rare universality while remaining grounded in precise, particular experiences. As readers continue to discover this remarkable novel, they’ll find not just a worthy Booker winner but a work that expands our understanding of what literature can achieve—a book that, in its unflinching examination of physical vulnerability, paradoxically affirms the resilience of the human spirit and the connective power of art. In giving form to our shared fragility, Szalay has created something enduring.