Flesh by David Szalay: the 2025 Booker Prize Winner

It’s Books, Baby! Booker Prize episode and Bev, Ian and Alo dive into the 2025 winning novel Flesh by David Szalay. We explore its sharp examination of masculinity, emotional restraint, and the quiet turning points that shape István’s life from adolescence to middle age. This episode also features Sim, joining us for a second guest appearance this season.

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Audition - Katie Kitamura
• Seascraper - Benjamin Wood
• Flashlight - Susan Choi
• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny - Kiran Desai
• The Rest of Our Lives - Ben Markovits
• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida - Shehan Karunatilaka
• Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo
• The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
• My Friends - Hisham Matar
• A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara
• Open Water - Caleb Azumah Nelson
• Boy Friends - Michael Pedersen
• 
  Seán Hewitt
• 
  Solvej Balle
• 
  Chloe Hooper, Helen Garner, and Sarah Krasnostein
• 
  Sarah Waters
• 
  Suzumi Suzuki
• 
  Brandon Taylor
  

Connect with us via email (⁠[e-mail]⁠) and on Instagram!

Books, Baby! – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksbabypod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Hosts:

Ian – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@bookish_ian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Bev – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@booksgonewilde⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Alo – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@books.swallows.universe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest Host:

Sim – ⁠⁠⁠@sims_solace