“If he feels talking about his favourite novel is politically disadvantageous, that’s a sad state of affairs” – David Szalay on Keir Starmer’s reading habits.
Szalay is the winner of the 2025 Booker Prize for Fiction.
He disputes claims that his novel, Flesh, is a tale of modern masculinity as reviewers have claimed. Though it certainly explores the male expression of emotion. In Flesh, Szalay’s protagonist, István, navigates sexual grooming, violence and prison before rising to the ranks of the super-rich – narrating his story in economical, tightly packed sentences.
Nicholas Harris met Szalay in London shortly after his win. They discuss the role of the novel, Szalay’s “post-brexit” identity as a “European author”, and why the Prime Minister should be reading more.
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