Up Next: Flesh - David Szalay

From Writers Who Read by Gary Alan McBride

May 10, 2026 · 2 min

About this episode

The episode features an analysis of the novel Flesh by David Szalay, focusing on themes of lonely masculinity and literary style.

Whitney, Mira, and Gary analyze another recently-published novel on the next episode of Writers Who Read . Next up: Flesh by David Szalay. Flesh is an unvarnished exploration of lonely masculinity. Okay. Istvǎn's interiority is a virtual blank slate, much like Rachel Cusk accomplished for her Outline trilogy narrator, okay? Stark Hemingwayesque prose and dialogue. Okay. Winner of the 2025 Booker Prize. Deservedly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Gary Alan McBride

Guests: Whitney, Mira

Topics covered

lonely masculinity
literary analysis
recently published novels
Booker Prize
Hemingwayesque prose

Keywords

Flesh
David Szalay
lonely masculinity
Hemingwayesque prose
Booker Prize

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Flesh, Outline trilogy, Booker Prize