The protagonist’s inner life is hidden from the reader in this highly original novel

• David Szalay wins 2025 Booker prize for ‘dark’ Flesh

Reflecting on the Booker judging process, chair Roddy Doyle stressed the “singularity” of Flesh, the most unusual novel on the shortlist. In his sixth book, Hungarian-British writer David Szalay takes a classic story arc – one man’s journey through life, from childhood to old age – and presents it in a radically new and challenging way, scooping out the interiority that usually powers the novel form.

We meet his protagonist, István, as a bored 15-year-old in a Hungarian backwater. He is seduced by a middle-aged neighbour into a relationship suffused with shame and disgust; a confused act of violence knocks his life off course; he joins the military and is stationed in Kuwait; he moves to London and works as a bouncer before the rising tides of global capital carry him, for a while, into the monied elite. And all the while, we are cut off from his thoughts, emotions and motivations: we see only how others react to him, desire him, fear him. The most we tend to hear from István himself is a bland, noncommittal “OK”.

Flesh by David Szalay (Vintage Publishing, £18.99). To support the Guardian, order your copy for £16.14 at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

Replacing the TV licence with a means-tested alternative may help disarm the right of one of its most effective weapons

Gotcha! The BBC’s enemies have taken two scalps and inflicted maximum damage. The shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of news, Deborah Turness, make it look as if the BBC accepts that it does indeed suffer from “serious and systemic” bias in its coverage of issues including Donald Trump, Gaza and trans rights. But in this political coup, only the BBC’s sworn ideological foes think a cherrypicked sample of journalistic errors amounts to “systemic” bias.

It was indeed a bad mistake to splice together two bits of Trump’s speech; but it needed a quick apology, not a decapitation. The BBC’s chair, Samir Shah, I’m told, tried to persuade Davie to stay to avoid this apparent capitulation to critics: Davie should indeed have stood his ground, not weakened the BBC by walking away.

Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist

Influencers tend to give hair care advice based on vibes. We asked medical professionals

Trying to grow your hair? If so, here’s what social media suggests: shampoo daily; don’t shampoo daily; avoid sulfates; embrace sulfates; use protein treatments; absolutely don’t use protein treatments; trim your hair regularly, but not too regularly.

Is that helpful?

Whether you want boozy treats, foodie indulgence or crafty delights, we opened the doors of 26 Advent calendars to see which are worth the countdown

• The best beauty advent calendars

The countdown to Christmas is approaching rapidly, and that means one thing: Advent calendars. Whether it’s for an excitable four-year-old or a beer-loving adult, there’s an Advent calendar for pretty much everyone.

But how do you know what’s worth splashing out on, and what’s not worth the money? We’ve tested, tasted and played with 26 Advent calendars to rate them for you. Whether it’s whisky or Squishmallows, here are our verdicts.

The defending Premier League champions spent big over the summer, but it’s hard to see how the new players fit

• Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here

What was it supposed to look like? Amid all the talk around Liverpool and their disappointing form at the start of this season, that is perhaps the hardest question of all to answer. What were they trying to do? If it had worked, how would this team have played?

The champions spent £424m (about $550m) on new signings in the summer, but if all had gone well, they would have spent an additional £40m ($53m) to land the Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guéhi. The England international would, at the very least, have given an extra option at the back (the injury to Giovanni Leoni has diminished their defensive options further), allowing Arne Slot to rest Ibrahima Konaté, whose poor form continued in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday. An early City penalty was a direct result of Konaté getting in Conor Bradley’s way as Jérémy Doku cut in from the left.

It’s the ultimate ick: trying to form a deep, lasting connection with a person who outsources original thought

It was a setting fit for a Nancy Meyers film. We were in Oregon wine country, in a rustic-chic barn that reeked of stealth wealth, for a friend’s rehearsal dinner. “This venue is perfect,” I told the groom-to-be. He leaned in as if to tell me a secret: “I found it on ChatGPT.”

I smiled tightly as this man described using generative AI for the initial stages of planning the wedding. (They also hired a human wedding planner.) I responded politely. Inside, however, I resolved: if my future spouse came to me with wedding input courtesy of ChatGPT, there would be no wedding.

Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’

• ‘Make no mistake – this was a coup’: the extraordinary downfall of the BBC’s top bosses

A BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told.

Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness.

The whirlwind that started when Deborah Turness came under attack at a board meeting is part of a wider political story, some say

When Deborah Turness, the now departed BBC News chief, was first invited to a meeting with the corporation’s board a few weeks ago, there was little to suggest it would be a particularly significant encounter.

But instead of a routine meeting, she came under attack over an item added to the agenda.

Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss the resignations of the BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, and its head of news, Deborah Turness. Plus, the growing unease within Labour about Keir Starmer’s leadership and what MPs might do about it

Corporation may seek a candidate with news experience but commercial credentials could also be a prerequisite

As the fallout over the accusations of bias batters the BBC, the corporation’s chair, Samir Shah, has already raised the need for a “smooth transition” as he kicks off the hunt for a replacement for the outgoing director general, Tim Davie.

With the focus on issues regarding the corporation’s news output there is speculation that Shah, who has 40 years’ experience in TV production and journalism, may look for a candidate with strong experience in the sector.