How is this year's Booker Prize winner connected to the Iraq War?

Canadian-Hungarian author David Szalay's book Flesh has won this year's Man Booker Prize. The book follows István in his journey from a Hungarian housing estate to the world of London's super-rich, via Iraq as a soldier.

The book, published by Jonathan Cape, was described as "just not like any other book" by chair of the judging panel, Roddy Doyle. Szalay has also picked up some famous fans, including Dua Lipa, who called Flesh "one of the most astonishing books I've ever read" in an interview with the author.

István, the book's protagonist, serves in the Hungarian army during the Iraq War. Hungary joined the illegal Iraq War in 2003 as part of the US-led invasion, along with many other NATO members, including Poland, Albania, and the UK. The Central European nation, which had a population of 10 million in 2003, sent 300 troops as part of the 'Coalition of the Willing.' The war was disastrous for the country and the Middle East, and was found to be based on fabricated claims on Iraq's then decommissioned weapons of mass destruction.

In 2004, the Hungarian government promised to withdraw all troops by 2005, saying they would wait until democratic elections were held. The government made the decision to withdraw to ease public pressure.  At the time, the country's then-Defence Minister, Ferenc Juhasz, said, "If we decide to stay we would create serious domestic political conflict since most people would disagree." By March 2005, all 300 Hungarian soldiers had left Iraq.

The Iraq War is one of many significant events that shape István's life in Flesh. The novel also features Hungary's 2004 accession to the EU and the COVID-19 pandemic as essential moments in the protagonist's life.

Flesh is David Szalay's sixth novel, and his first Booker Prize winner. His 2016 collection of intertwined short stories, All That Man Is, was also shortlisted for the prestigious prize. 

The other shortlisted books for the 2025 Booker Prize were: Audition by Katie Kitamura
Flashlight by Susan Choi
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits