Ce nu poate fi rostit

István grows up in Hungary, where a female neighbour sexually exploits him. After her husband dies, he goes to prison. He later moves to England and finds love, then wealth. In time, he loses both.

David Szalay’s novel follows a lonely man’s efforts to start again. It explores trauma, unmet desire, and feelings he struggles to express. István is strong and acts on impulse, but speaks little. Brief scenes trace his path from poverty to wealth and loss. The spare prose keeps the focus on his acts and inner strain.

This edition translates the English novel Flesh, with Anca Barbulescu as translator. It forms part of the Fiction Connection series. Szalay received the Booker Prize in 2025.

Born in Canada in 1974, Szalay grew up in London. He studied at Oxford and now lives in Vienna. He has also written radio plays for the BBC. His first novel, London and the South-East, won two awards. These were the Betty Trask Award and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. He later wrote The Innocent and Spring. His fourth book, All That Man Is, won the Gordon Burn Prize. It also reached the 2016 Man Booker Prize shortlist. His work has appeared in more than twenty languages.