David Szalay talks about this and his novel

with presse editor Xenia Sircar.

The German text will be read by Dominikus Weileder.

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István is fifteen and lives with his mother in a prefabricated housing estate on the outskirts of a Hungarian city. He is shy and finds it difficult to understand the social codes of his peers. When a reluctant acquaintance with a neighbor his mother’s age develops into a sexual relationship that István himself barely understands, his life spirals out of control. The years that follow take István from Hungary to London, where he shuffles from job to job and where every fork in the road he takes is determined by the good or selfish intentions of strangers. As he rises and eventually falls in unexpected ways, István himself remains almost uninvolved in the action, speechless – a silent observer of his own turbulent life.

Hypnotically, with shattering emphasis and great sensitivity, David Szalay tells of a life in its intimate moments – a life that is barely perceptibly marked by the shocks of the present and the precariousness of human existence in a cold Europe. 

David Szalay »Was nicht gesagt werden kann«, Claassen 2025
David Szalay »Flesh«, Scribner 2025
Eine Veranstaltung vom Literaturhaus Berlin im Rahmen von LITERATUR FÜR DIE STADT

Eintritt 9 € / erm. 6 € / Berlin-Ticket S 3 €