Flesh by David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Award today.
Has anyone here read it? I just added it to my Kindle.
I only gave it 3 stars. Read the first week of July. Not remembering a lot about it! But do know it was not a fav. Also imagine a lot of people liked it.
I never even heard of it until the short list was announced…and I call myself a reader. Oh well. The Booker winners can sometimes be um…weird. Kim, do let us know what you think of it!
I had heard of it and had been tempted to buy it before, but yeah, it might be a challenging read. BookBrowse didn’t review it so there must have been something about it took it off the shortlist. I like books that are “different,” and someone on the Booker committee said something about never having read anything quite like it before, so I’m intrigued. But I seem to remember Paula & I have similar tastes so now I’m wondering if I wasted $15, LOL. It’ll be a while before I get to it in any case.
The title was on my list; however, after reading reviews I wasn’t too eager to find the book. I’m still not likely to buy or borrow.
Odd one out here—I loved Flesh. One of the things I look for in my reading is the unusual. I’ve read a lot of books in my long life and so many of them seem like deja vu. This was a story that was totally unexpected and it was delivered in an interesting voice. Just guessing but I’m thinking you will like it, @kim.kovacs. I watched the Booker shortlist and the final prize announcements and it seemed to be a pretty unanimous judges choice. Keep us posted if you get to it.
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I haven’t and probably won’t. I was cheering for The Land in Winter, which I’m reading now and loving.
Thanks, @Anne_Glasgow, I’ll let you know!
You know, it’s funny, but someone here mentioned “normal books” a few months ago (sorry, don’t remember who). They were saying that most of the books being published these days were odd - they weren’t “normal books.” (I chose Buckeye for my next review book because of that comment - it was good but straightforward.) Anyway, that person may be correct - it’s the books outside the norm that seem to get a lot of attention these days.
It makes me wonder if those of us who are older professional readers are just really drawn to something that’s different because we’ve encountered so many books over the years, many of them similar.
That’s a good observation, Kim. “Novelty” is a draw for me. I recall reading books and series because they seemed fresh, eg Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Asimov Foundation, etc. I’ll soon begin my reading journey beginning in the 1950s. I’ll let you know what I observe.
I’m in your camp and read books that others are not intrigued by. I am going to read the book.
I agree with you as an older reader on all your points. I am looking for a book that is not as prescribed and a little quirky.
Thank you @Anne_Glasgow I also look for the unusual when I read– I will definitely put it in my library Holds queue!
I gave it a try but DNFd it. The writing wasn’t for me at all.