Booker Prize-winning author David Szalay has ignited a literary controversy, with readers and critics drawing compelling comparisons between his acclaimed novel Flesh and Stanley Kubrick's iconic 1975 film Barry Lyndon. The debate centres on whether Szalay's work constitutes an elaborate homage or merely shares uncanny narrative similarities with the cinematic classic.
Plot Parallels Between Flesh and Barry Lyndon
Released in March 2025, Szalay's sixth novel Flesh follows the life of István, a young working-class Hungarian who ascends from poverty to join London's elite, only to experience a dramatic fall from grace. Critics have noted that this trajectory mirrors that of Kubrick's protagonist Barry Lyndon, an Irishman who enlists in the army, marries a wealthy woman, grieves his son, clashes with his stepson, and ultimately loses everything.
Despite the near-identical story arcs, Szalay has not cited Kubrick's film as an inspiration. This omission has fueled speculation among readers that the author may be embedding subtle Easter eggs referencing Barry Lyndon throughout his text. One notable example includes a scene where both characters comment on the use of the colour blue in paintings during gallery visits.
Critical Analysis and Literary Debate
Initial reviews of Flesh praised its sparse prose and unique narrative style, with Booker Prize judges chair Roddy Doyle remarking they had "never read anything quite like it". However, the similarities to Kubrick's adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon went largely unmentioned until cultural commentators began connecting the dots.
In June 2025, Aled Maclean-Jones suggested in The Republic of Letters that Szalay's novel represented a "near beat-for-beat mirror" of both Thackeray's original work and Kubrick's film adaptation. This analysis was expanded upon by David Sexton in The New Statesman, who described Flesh as "nothing less than a thorough revision and updating of Barry Lyndon".
Sexton later argued in The Standard that while the connection was undeniable, it should not be viewed as plagiarism but rather as "a vital tribute to a fantastic film". He maintained that Szalay had successfully relocated and reimagined the classic story for contemporary audiences while preserving its essential narrative structure.
Author's Response and Influences
What makes this literary debate particularly intriguing is Szalay's own account of his creative influences. During an appearance on Dua Lipa's Service95 Book Club podcast, the author listed five literary works that shaped Flesh, including Hamlet, Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room, and Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim. Notably absent was any reference to Kubrick's film or Thackeray's original novel.
In a forthcoming BBC Radio 4 interview on This Cultural Life, Szalay directly addresses the comparisons. When asked if Flesh represents a "direct reference" to Barry Lyndon, the author responds, "No, I wouldn't go that far". He acknowledges that while he saw the film at age twenty and that its rags-to-riches arc may have influenced him subconsciously, Kubrick's work "wasn't really at the front of my mind" during the writing process.
Szalay explicitly denies that his Booker Prize-winning novel was conceived as a homage to the cinematic masterpiece, leaving readers to ponder whether these striking similarities represent conscious artistic reference, unconscious influence, or mere coincidence in the storytelling tradition.
