British-Hungarian author David Szalay’s Flesh wins 2025 Booker Prize
‘A dark book, but a joy to read,’ says judging panel chairpublished at 22:12 GMT 10 November
Ian Youngs
Culture reporter
Image source, PA MediaRoddy Doyle congratulated David Szalay on his win
The judges spent more than five hours discussing the six shortlisted novels, but author Roddy Doyle, who chaired the judging panel, said it was “very clear that this was the book that all five of us liked most”.
Explaining their choice of winner, Doyle said: “What we particularly liked about Flesh was its singularity. It’s just not like any other book.”
It is “a dark book, but we all found it a joy to read”, he added.
Many people have remarked on the power of David Szalay’s pared-down, minimalist dialogue and descriptions.
“We loved the spareness of the writing,” Doyle explained. “We loved how so much is revealed without us being overly aware of it being revealed.
“It’s just extraordinary how he uses white space. Grief is depicted by a few blank pages.”
Referring to the writing style, Doyle added: “I found it riveting, and I thought the dialogue was superb – and the absence of it was superb.”
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