“Flesh” is a novel about the sexual and intellectual obsession of the spirit against the backdrop of a feast of flesh. The action takes place in the American South, Faulkner's homeland, among highbrow university professors. The main character, like a medieval knight, challenges women in the weight category of sumo wrestlers to a love match. Each subsequent one exceeds the previous one in size. In his neighbor Don, a modest literature teacher, he finds an admiring and empathetic fan.