Some critics have read “Meat” as a way to understand silent men – the main character’s dialogue consists mostly of the words “okay” and “sure”. But for David Szalay, writing began with reflections on being a body in the world. He did not want, as many writers do, to focus on thoughts and feelings.
"I see the fact that we are living bodies as the foundation of our existence. Everything else radiates from that. It is also something that is often overlooked in literary depictions of our lives," he says.
Different opinions
At the center of the book is István, a Hungarian man who is abused as a teenager and eventually migrates to London, where he finds himself in the world of the super-rich. It is up to the reader to interpret how István experiences these transformative events.
So it's perhaps not surprising that people have such different opinions about the book," notes David Szalay, who is happy about the debate.
With his brevity, he also wanted to express that language has its limitations - which characterizes the sometimes chilling depictions of sex.
Writing about sex is difficult; it can easily become absurd, sentimental or just weird. I decided to write factually, without strange metaphors, he says, hoping that the reader will imagine István's feelings for themselves.
Chance is the most important thing
Szalay believes that a factual book about a man's experiences stands out in an industry where fiction writing has largely become a female affair. But masculinity wasn't something he wanted to explore.
For me, chance is more important. That's how I look at the world: it starts with where and when we are born and who our parents are. Our lives are shaped in that moment and it's not something we can control.
The book begins when the Iron Curtain falls and Europe is supposed to be united. Instead, the gaps between East and West grow, and István experiences both enormous social differences and prejudice against him as a migrant.
Szalay questions how much agency we have: can our free will really affect our lives? Already at the age of 11, he was fascinated by how George Orwell, in “Animal Farm,” depicts how fate befalls people, regardless of whether they deserve it or not.
There is a moment in the book when István saves a person from dying, which is morally admirable, but it is not something he is rewarded for. The book shows that there is no connection between moral actions and success.
Facts: David Szalay
Born: 1974 in Canada, to a Canadian mother and a Hungarian father. He grew up in the UK and has lived in Hungary for over ten years.
Lives: Vienna
Family: Married with three children.
Current: With the novel "Meat".
Background: He has written six novels and has been awarded several prizes, including the Gordon Burn Prize for the novel "All That Man Is", which was also nominated for the Booker Prize in 2018. In 2025 he was awarded the Booker Prize for the novel "Meat".
Favorite author: "I struggle with that question. I don't know; I appreciate Houellebecq, Alan Hollinghurst and Virginia Woolf, to name a few."
Are you writing something: "In a way. I have something half-finished that I'm not working on right now. I'm looking forward to starting to write it again."
... prejudice against migrants from the East:
“It’s subtle. István doesn’t face a wall of hostility, but there are those who gently mock his accent. And that mockery is a sign of larger prejudices, about who he is and where he comes from. Migrants from Eastern Europe are received in a rather nuanced way. But there is a condescending side, that they don’t take him seriously.”
...how he started writing:
"As a child I enjoyed reading and started writing as a reaction to it. I was about ten years old; reading was like a game that you wanted to play from the other side. It was a naive and unconscious attempt to recreate what you enjoy as a reader. It didn't have to mean or express anything, it was just the pleasure of that game."
