David Szalay Flesh film adaptation:
There’s something thrilling in the air for book lovers and film fans alike: David Szalay’s raw, razor‑sharp novel Flesh, freshly adorned with the prestigious Booker Prize, is reportedly being adapted for the screen — and one of the production houses attached is House Productions (yes, the same folks behind “Conclave”).
Why This Matters
Flesh is not your typical rags‑to‑riches tale. It charts the life of István, a young man from Hungary who drifts through service, immigration, aspiration and the seductive heights of London’s super‑rich, always carrying something immobile inside that won’t quite settle.
The book won the 2025 Booker Prize, with judges applauding both its prose and its guts — “we had never read anything quite like it,” said the panel.
So when word spreads that House Productions is exploring the film rights (not yet confirmed down to a director or cast), it’s a big deal. A novel of this kind—spare, dark, relentlessly modern—heading for adaptation suggests something bold is in the works.
What the Novel Does & Why It Could Be a Great Film
Atmosphere over exposition: Szalay leaves much unsaid. Blank pages, glancing details, gaps where life happens off stage. That minimalism creates space.
Physicality of experience: Szalay has spoken about wanting to write “about life as a physical experience … our existence is a living body in the world.”
Class, migration, masculinity: Themes of power and displacement — man between countries, between classes, between selves.
On screen, this means: moody tone, strong visual sense of place (Hungary → London), maybe a lingering camera on something not being said. A filmmaker could play with time jumps, silences, understatement. The challenge? Capturing what the novel withholds rather than what it spells out.
What to Watch For
Screenwriter / director attached: Who takes the helm will tell us if this becomes a mainstream prestige film, an art‑house character piece, or something in between.
How faithful / how adaptive: Will they rewrite changes to the narrative? The novel’s structure is unconventional; adaptations might tighten things.
Casting: István is at the heart of it. A performer who can carry that restrained energy, that sense of interior life, will matter.
Setting & tone: Hungary as origin, London as destination. Will the film lean into cultural dislocation, the immigrant vantage point?
Release strategy: Given the novel’s modern and edgy themes, one wonders if this will aim for the festival circuit or hope for a wider release.
My Two‑Cents Take
I’m excited. Huge potential here. Many adaptations of books that win big prizes tend to go safe — big stars, broad strokes, crowd‑pleasers. Flesh feels like it wants risk. And House Productions have shown they can do classy. If they lean into the novel’s spare power rather than gloss it over, we could see something quietly remarkable.
If I were to bet: Expect this to not be a standard “biopic” or “rags‑to‑riches” explosion. I suspect it’ll linger, watch, let you feel uncomfortable. That’s a win. If it becomes just a “male struggling his way up” story, that would be a let‑down.
So keep your eyes peeled. I’ll be watching production announcements, cast leaks, festival release hints. And I’ll definitely be reading the novel again in preparation.
