Flesh

István lives with his mother in a quiet apartment complex in Hungary, and becomes isolated with his neighbour, a married woman close to his mother's age. Years later, he rises through the ranks from the army to the elite circles of London's super-rich, navigating the twenty-first century's tides of money and power. His newfound riches threaten to undo him completely.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 06 March 2025
Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Samantha Harvey's novel "Brilliance on Every Page" is a revelatory work that has received high praise from critics. David Nicholls describes it as "so brilliant and wise on chance, love, sex, and money," while Rhianna Dhillon of BBC Radio 4 calls it "the book to get out of a reading slump." The story follows fifteen-year-old István, who moves to a new town in Hungary and becomes isolated, forming a clandestine relationship with a married woman close to his mother's age. Years later, he rises through the ranks from the army to the elite circles of London's super-rich, navigating the tides of money and power. Torn between love, intimacy, status, and wealth, his newfound riches threaten to undo him completely. The novel offers a searing insight into the way we live now, with the Observer describing it as "refreshing, illuminating, and true." The Financial Times calls it "compelling and elegant, merciless and poignant," while Tessa Hadley praises it as "utterly engrossing" and a "5* reader review." It was also named "Best Book of 2025" in the Guardian, Observer, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, and Daily Mail.

Weight: 576g
Dimension: 164 x 244 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780224099783