David Szalay is a Worthy Winner of the Booker Prize
The results of last night’s Booker Prize, the most prestigious and generous literary award in the UK, produced a few surprises. Among a strong and well-balanced shortlist of three men and three women, many expected Andrew Miller’s novel The Land in Winter to take the £50,000 prize.
Miller, previously shortlisted in 2001 for Oxygen, was the most widely recognized author on the list. His latest book had also been the best-selling of the six, reportedly outselling the other five combined. It was even the bookmakers’ clear favourite, prompting more than a few readers to consider betting on what seemed a near certainty.
A Victory for Szalay
However, the judges, led by chairman Roddy Doyle and joined by actress and publisher Sarah Jessica Parker as well as novelist Kiley Reid, made a different choice. They awarded the prize — along with its generous cheque — to Hungarian-British writer David Szalay for his novel Flesh.
“A dark book, but we all found it a joy to read,” Doyle said, adding that “it was very clear that this was the book that all five of us liked most.”
Szalay’s win confirms his reputation as one of the most perceptive voices in contemporary fiction and signals a new energy within the Booker’s evolving literary landscape.
Author’s Summary
David Szalay’s unexpected Booker Prize win for Flesh demonstrates the judges’ preference for complexity and depth over popularity, marking a fresh turn in British literary taste.