Flesh

István is 15, lives on a housing estate in Hungary, and barely knows what to say to anyone. He's shy, awkward and runs on impulse rather than plans.

An affair with a much older married neighbor knocks his life off course. A fight goes wrong, and the boy ends up in juvenile detention. From there it's the army and the Iraq War, where he learns to take almost anything without a word.

Back in civilian life, he drifts through small jobs until he lands in private security in London. He becomes the driver for a very rich family and steps into a world of private jets, designer clothes and restaurants where nobody checks the prices.

Szalay follows István across decades in lean chapters, with little dialogue and almost no explained thoughts. What's left is the body: desire, fatigue, money, violence. István mostly answers instead of starting conversations, and often all he says is "Okay."