"Flesh" by David Szalay

For the first meeting of the year, we will read "Flesh" by Hungarian writer David Szalay. Published in Protected content , the book won the Protected content Prize.

Description from Wikipedia:
"Flesh is the sixth novel by David Szalay. It tells a rags-to-riches story about a young Hungarian man named István. He lives an impulsive lifestyle, making rash decisions without thinking them through. After his sexual awakening, juvenile detention, military service and a series of menial jobs, István becomes a rich married socialite in London. This success brings him some contentment, but István's largely unchanged personality generates conflict with his new family..."

Description from Goodreads:
"A collection of intimate moments over the course of decades, Flesh chronicles a man at odds with himself—estranged from and by the circumstances and demands of a life not entirely under his control and the roles that he is asked to play. Shadowed by the specter of past tragedy and the apathy of modernity, the tension between István and all that alienates him hurtles forward until sudden tragedy again throws life as he knows it in jeopardy. “Spare and detached on the page, lush in resonance beyond it” (NPR), Flesh traces the imperceptible but indelible contours of unresolved trauma and its aftermath amid the precarity and violence of an ever-globalizing Europe with incisive insight, unyielding pathos, and startling humanity"

365 pages

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