Booker and bush

David Szalay's novel Flesh won the 2025 Booker Prize. He is Canadian-Hungarian. A while back Mercia S. Burger discussed the novel here. It doesn't exactly sound like a page turner.

She had the following to say about Szalay's protagonist: "István is written as a flat character, one-dimensional like a shadow, to the point of banality. This fits perfectly with Szalay’s minimalist style and recalls another rule-breaker and contemporary, Rachel Cusk, with her nameless, passive characters who listen more than they speak." 

Her conclusion: "The reader will have to endure a bit of discomfort and stick it out, but this guy is like an empty can with a pin inside. If you shake it hard enough, you do hear something after all."

She did predict that it would be on the Booker shortlist. Read her discussion here. Follow us for more hints and predictions.

We are on holiday in Hazyview. This is my current view:

To most people, holiday means reading time. To me, who reads every day, holiday offers time to think, chat, walk and stare into the fire. So far I have managed to complete one jigsaw puzzle of 100 pieces and read one Afrikaans novel.

Now I've taken up the new John Grisham, The Widow. Perfect holiday reading: Shady lawyers, chaotic courtrooms and yellow legal pads. I'll tell you about it.