Flesh
David Szalay. Scribner, $28.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-9821-2279-9
Szalay (Turbulence) offers a heartbreaking and revelatory portrait of a taciturn Hungarian man who serially attempts to build a new life after his traumatic adolescence. At 15, István struggles with adjusting to a new town in Hungary. After a married neighbor coerces him into sex, they regularly see each other until they’re caught by her husband, whom István accidentally kills by knocking him down the stairs. He’s sent to juvenile detention. Once out, he joins the army and fights in the Iraq War, where a good friend dies in an ambush and he feels responsible. István then tries to start over in London, finding work first as a bouncer at a strip club, then as a driver and security guard for a wealthy family. As the gritty narrative unfolds, István presents himself as little more than a hunk of flesh, preyed upon by married women who are hungry for something missing from their own lives. The propulsive narrative is heavy on dialogue, in which István regularly responds with a simple “okay” to questions about how he’s doing, though Szalay makes clear that István is far from okay. Near the end, István is forced to make a difficult moral choice, and the outcome starkly reveals the degree to which his life is shaped by fate. This tragedy will leave readers in awe. Agent: Bill Clegg, Clegg Agency. (Apr.)
Details
Reviewed on: 02/04/2025
Genre: Fiction
Compact Disc - 978-1-7971-8653-5
Downloadable Audio - 978-1-7971-8651-1
Hardcover - 368 pages - 978-0-7710-7803-3