Not OK? Booker winner Flesh ignites debate about state of masculinity

<p>Toxic male behaviour of David Szalay’s protagonist reflects real-world concerns about a ‘crisis of masculinity’</p><p>In the immediate aftermath of David Szalay’s book Flesh winning the Booker prize, one feature of the novel stood out: how often the protagonist utters the word “OK”.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/11/its-notoriously-hard-to-write-about-sex-david-szalay-flesh-booker-prize-winner">500 times</a> István grunts out the response is part of a sparse prose style through which the British-Hungarian Szalay gives the reader few insights into the inner workings of a man whose fortunes rise and fall.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/17/david-szalay-booker-prize-novel-crisis-masculinity-debate">Continue reading...</a>