The Hungarian Author László Krasznahorkai Awarded the Nobel Nobel Prize in Literary Arts
The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been granted to from Hungary author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Nobel awarding body.
The Committee commended the 71-year-old's "compelling and visionary collection that, amidst cataclysmic terror, reaffirms the strength of creative expression."
An Esteemed Career of Dystopian Writing
Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dystopian, somber works, which have earned numerous awards, including the 2019 National Book Award for literature in translation and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.
Many of his works, notably his titles his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into movies.
Early Beginnings
Originating in Gyula, Hungary in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first made his mark with his 1985 first book his seminal novel, a dark and mesmerising portrayal of a failing village society.
The novel would later earn the Man Booker International Prize honor in translation decades after, in 2013.
A Unique Writing Approach
Commonly referred to as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his long, winding prose (the 12 chapters of Satantango each comprise a one paragraph), dystopian and melancholic themes, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led reviewers to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.
Satantango was notably made into a lengthy movie by cinematic artist Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a lengthy creative partnership.
"Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European heritage that includes Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is marked by absurdism and grotesque exaggeration," commented the committee chair, chair of the Nobel panel.
He characterized Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "developed towards … continuous structure with long, winding lines devoid of punctuation that has become his signature."
Critical Acclaim
The critic Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the contemporary Hungarian expert of the apocalyptic," while Sebald applauded the broad relevance of his vision.
Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in English. The reviewer James Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like precious items."
Worldwide Travels
Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been molded by journeys as much as by literature. He first exited communist his homeland in the late 80s, residing a period in West Berlin for a grant, and later drew inspiration from east Asia – particularly Asian nations – for novels such as The Prisoner of Urga, and his book on China.
While working on War and War, he explored across European nations and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York home, noting the legendary poet's backing as crucial to finalizing the book.
Krasznahorkai on His Work
Inquired how he would describe his oeuvre in an discussion, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, words; then from these words, some brief phrases; then more sentences that are more extended, and in the chief extremely lengthy paragraphs, for the period of three and a half decades. Beauty in prose. Fun in darkness."
On readers encountering his books for the initial encounter, he added: "For any individuals who haven’t read my works, I couldn’t recommend a particular book to read to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to step out, sit down at a location, maybe by the banks of a creek, with no obligations, no thoughts, just remaining in quiet like boulders. They will eventually meet someone who has already read my books."
Literature Prize History
Before the announcement, betting agencies had ranked the favourites for this year's honor as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese author, and Krasznahorkai.
The Nobel Prize in Writing has been presented on 117 past events since the early 20th century. Latest recipients are Ernaux, Dylan, Gurnah, Glück, Peter Handke and the Polish author. The most recent honoree was the South Korean writer, the Korean author best known for The Vegetarian.
Krasznahorkai will ceremonially receive the award and certificate in a function in winter in Stockholm, Sweden.
More to follow
