Flesh by David Szalay

Interesting. A real chin stroker of a book. I read and enjoyed the author's Turbulence, so I thought I'd check out more of his work. This is a very different book. The thing is I'm not quite sure how much of that is on purpose.
Flesh is essentially a biographical book that follows its protagonist, Istvan, from age 15 to late middle age. It follows him very closely and yet feels strikingly distant. Mostly because Istvan is such a muted character. He barely speaks or expresses emotions. Most of his actions are reactions. Basically, he's the kind of person to whom life happens. 
This life is described in leaps and bounds, occasionally skipping years, as he goes from one experience to another, with very pronounced ups and downs. And yet seldom if ever do you feel like you know him or get him or care about him at all.
The author uses a very spare style of narrative, which makes for a quick read, but feels a bit like a conversation with one-word answers. Most of Istvans are "Okay." Not just him, either.
I'm surprised the author didn't just name the novel Okay for how often he uses the word. And it would have bene rather accurate, too, since as a reading experience it was just okay. Thanks Netgalley.