Flesh by David Szalay

Flesh by David Szalay is a powerful, unsettling novel that explores desire, loneliness and the fragile boundaries between intimacy and exploitation. Set between London and Budapest, the story follows a middle‑aged British businessman whose life begins to unravel as he becomes entangled with a young Hungarian sex worker.

Szalay’s writing is precise, cool and unsentimental, exposing the emotional and moral compromises that shape modern relationships. The novel examines power, money and the commodification of the body, asking what remains of genuine connection in a world driven by transaction and self‑interest.

Flesh is ideal for readers who appreciate literary fiction that is psychologically acute and quietly devastating. With its sharp observations and uncomfortable honesty, it offers a compelling portrait of contemporary masculinity, midlife crisis and the search for meaning in an increasingly alienating society.

For more contemporary fiction and literary novels, explore other titles in the modern literature collection on World of Books.