David Szalay’s Flesh faces plagiarism claims over Barry Lyndon similarities
Tom McArdle
The author of a Booker Prize-winning novel has been accused of copying the rags-to-riches plot of a Stanley Kubrick film.
David Szalay Meat It was praised for its originality last year after judges said they had “never read anything like it”.
But critics have since pointed out the striking similarities between his book and Kubrick’s 1975 film. Barry Lyndon.
Kubrick’s period drama William Makepeace is an adaptation of Thackeray. Barry Lyndon’s Luckit is now considered a classic.
However, those who watched the film and read Szalay’s book questioned why the author did not acknowledge the extent of their similar plot lines.
Meat is the story of István, a working-class Hungarian who makes and then loses an extraordinary fortune.
Judge Roddy Doyle said the book “focuses on a working-class man”. [who] “It’s not normally looked at very much.”
In Kubrick’s work, Lyndon also comes from an impoverished background in Ireland.
Both István and Lyndon become soldiers, marry rich women, lose their sons, quarrel with insecure stepsons whose lives they eventually spare, then suffer financial ruin and end up where they started.
In conclusion, writer Aled Maclean-Jones explained: Meat As an “almost” retelling of the film.
Despite this, Szalay is set to downplay the connection in an upcoming episode of BBC Radio 4 This Cultural Lifeaccordingly Times.
When asked in the episode airing Thursday whether the film was a “direct reference,” he replies: “No, I wouldn’t go that far.”
He adds that the author later said Kubrick “wasn’t really on my mind, I don’t think.”
On the subject, Szalay acknowledged that the film left a “pretty strong impression” on him, but rejected the idea that it was a direct tribute.
Examples of similarities in the works are shown when both main characters react to the paintings, stating that they like the use of the color blue.
Meanwhile, in both the book and the movie, there is a scene where the protagonist’s mother warns him about the dangers of newfound wealth.
However, critic David Sexton said Szalay did nothing wrong in taking inspiration from another work, but found it difficult to understand his evasiveness.
former literary editor Evening Standard said Times: “I don’t understand why you don’t embrace this more at this stage.
“I, and everyone else who noticed it, found nothing wrong with it. It’s not plagiarism, it’s perfectly legitimate to adapt something, and I’ve always admired his writing.”
Another critic, Anthony Cummins, claimed that the references to Barry Lyndon were more “Easter eggs” in the films, hidden messages that fans could notice.
Last year, Szalay became the first Hungarian-British author to win the Booker Prize and its accompanying £50,000 ($95,000) prize money.
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