Dua’s Monthly Read for October 2025
“Fifteen-year-old István lives with his mother on a drab housing estate in Hungary. Shy and awkward, he’s having trouble fitting in. A spark of excitement comes in the form of his clandestine relationship with a married neighbour – until it ends with a catastrophic incident that changes István’s life forever.
“True to the episodic form of this book, we pick up several years later as István, lost and directionless, joins the army. We follow him to London and the shady world of Soho strip clubs, before a chance encounter once again pushes him in a very different direction. Suddenly he has wealth, power and status, but one constant remains… István’s apparent passivity and emotional detachment from the events swirling around him.
“This is a book that constantly keeps you guessing. Even down to the dialogue, which is like nothing I’ve ever read before. In Flesh, David pares speech back to the bone, and there are almost no physical descriptions of any of the characters – you’re left to picture them for yourself. Instead, key moments such as István’s changing fortunes are reflected through small observations like his habit for cigarettes, then cigars, and then vapes. Yet despite these spare details, I found Flesh a tense and gripping read – and by the end, I cared deeply about István.
“David Szalay’s discipline as a writer to give us just enough is unmatched. In István, he has created a character who will be analysed and puzzled over by every reader that encounters him. I can’t wait to see what David does next.” – Dua Lipa
Scroll down for Dua’s interview with the author and more content related to the book...
Available on Bookshop.org, Waterstones, and Barnes & Noble
For more book recommendations, subscribe to our newsletter
