Why David Szalay's 'dark' book about working class man won 2025 Booker Prize

David Szalay has won the 2025 Booker Prize for his novel Flesh.

The decision marks a shift in literary focus, as the winning book is described by judges as “dark,” triumphed by turning its gaze toward a demographic often overlooked in literary fiction and funding profound humanity within its spare prose.

The story revolves around the protagonist, István, from his adolescence on a Hungarian social housing estate to his unlikely ascent into London’s world of extreme wealth.

Chair of the judging panel, Roddy Doyle stated that the book “homes in on a working-class man, which ordinarily doesn’t get much of a look in.”

He further added that the novel “invites us to look behind the face” of an ordinary man that is often rendered invisible.

With the book’s victory, it is evident that the Booker judges valued emotional authenticity over escapism.

Szalay’s minimalist approach, using blank pages to showcase grief and sparse dialogue, forces readers to engage deeply with István’s internal world.

“It is, in many ways, a dark book, but it is a joy to read,“ Doyle noted, focusing that he novel’s power lies in its unflinching honesty rather than a redemptive narrative.

The win also showcases a broader cultural moment, where stories of class, migration, and complex masculinity are resonating deeply.

By awarding Flesh, the Booker Prize has not only crowned an exceptional novel but has also validated the profound literary value of telling quiet, challenging stories from society’s margins.

Other contenders of the 2025 Booker Prize were Susan Choi’s Flashlight, Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Katie Kitamura’s Audition, Ben Markovits’s The Rest of Our Lives, and Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter.