About this episode
Joan Baum reviews the novel 'Flesh' by David Szalay, exploring its themes of detachment and the author's recognition by the Booker Prize.
A young Hungarian man simply flows with the random events that shape his life for him. This profound feeling of detachment guides the main character of the novel Flesh. Author David Szalay won the 2025 Booker Prize for his work. It stood out so far from the other entries that judges of the Prize said they never read anything quite like it. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it, and she agrees.
People in this episode
Host: Joan Baum
Topics covered
- book review
- literature
- Booker Prize
- Hungarian literature
- detachment
- character study
Keywords
- Flesh
- David Szalay
- Booker Prize
- book review
- Hungarian literature
- detachment
- novel
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Flesh
Places: Hungary
More episodes of Baum on Books
- Commencing your life: A few reflections by Joan Baum · June 4, 2026 · 5 min
- Book Review: 'A Journey North' · May 21, 2026 · 5 min
- Book Review: 'The Correspondent' · April 23, 2026 · 5 min
- Book Review: 'Illusions of Trust' · April 9, 2026 · 5 min
- Book Review: Nabokov's 'Lolita' · March 26, 2026 · 6 min
- Book Review: 'The Long Goodbye' · March 12, 2026 · 6 min
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