Exploring the Depths of Flesh at Book Club
28 April @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm UTC+10
Tuesday 28 April from 17:30 in the Members Bar
This month’s Book Club turns the pages of David Szalay’s Flesh, a compelling novel that follows one man’s journey across continents and decades, leaving a lasting impression long after the final chapter.
Flesh follows the life of István, a Hungarian boy whose early experiences shape his entire trajectory. Growing up shy and isolated in a small Hungarian town, he forms a secret relationship in his teens that alters his life’s course. From there, the story propels him through a series of transformative and often unsettling phases, including military service, menial jobs, and eventually life among London’s wealthy elite, where success brings comfort but also deep conflict and fragmentation.
The novel spans decades and settings, from Hungary to the Middle East and metropolitan London, tracing how trauma, desire, power, intimacy, and identity shape István’s sense of self. What emerges is a haunting portrait of a man influenced as much by what is left unsaid as what is openly revealed.
Join fellow members for an engaging discussion on this 2025 Booker Prize-winning and critically acclaimed novel that has sparked conversation across the literary world.
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