David Szalay’s Flesh, a novel that explores contemporary masculinity through the eventful life of a Hungarian man across the decades, was the “unanimous” choice as winner of this year’s Booker Prize. It was also the right choice.
“It was the emphatic winner,” said Irish writer Roddy Doyle, the chair of the 2025 judging panel and a previous winner himself. He and fellow selectors Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Power and Kiley Reid are convinced they have whittled down the original list of 153 books to the most deserved champion from the six shortlisted contenders. “We all really felt this book in particular stood out. It was unanimous. We didn’t need a formal vote. Flesh was the book we liked and admired the most. It moved and impressed us and is a very, very special book,” said Doyle, who won for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha in 1993.
