The Hungarian Author László Krasznahorkai Receives the Nobel Nobel Award in Literature
The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been granted to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Swedish Academy.
The Committee praised the 71-year-old's "powerful and prophetic body of work that, in the midst of end-times dread, reasserts the force of the arts."
A Renowned Path of Bleak Narratives
Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, somber books, which have won several prizes, such as the 2019 National Book Award for literature in translation and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.
Many of his books, notably his titles Satantango and another major work, have been made into movies.
Debut Novel
Born in the Hungarian town of Gyula in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 first book Satantango, a grim and captivating representation of a disintegrating village society.
The book would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize honor in the English language decades after, in 2013.
An Unconventional Literary Style
Commonly referred to as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is known for his lengthy, intricate prose (the dozen sections of Satantango each comprise a single paragraph), dystopian and somber motifs, and the kind of persistent force that has led literary experts to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.
The novel was notably made into a lengthy movie by director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long artistic collaboration.
"The author is a remarkable writer of epic tales in the central European literary tradition that traces back to Kafka to Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and bizarre extremes," stated the committee chair, chair of the Nobel jury.
He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "progressed to … continuous language with extended, meandering sentences without punctuation that has become his signature."
Critical Acclaim
Susan Sontag has described the author as "the contemporary Hungarian expert of end-times," while Sebald praised the universality of his perspective.
Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in the English language. The literary critic James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like precious items."
Global Influences
Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by exploration as much as by literature. He first left socialist his homeland in 1987, staying a year in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later was inspired from Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for books such as a specific work, and another novel.
While working on War and War, he travelled widely across the continent and stayed in Ginsberg's New York apartment, describing the renowned writer's backing as vital to finalizing the book.
Writer's Own Words
Questioned how he would characterize his work in an conversation, Krasznahorkai answered: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some brief phrases; then additional phrases that are more extended, and in the primary exceptionally extended phrases, for the duration of decades. Elegance in writing. Fun in hell."
On readers encountering his books for the first time, he noted: "For any individuals who are new to my books, I would refrain from advising any specific title to peruse to them; rather, I’d suggest them to venture outside, settle at a location, possibly by the banks of a creek, with nothing to do, no thoughts, just remaining in quiet like boulders. They will sooner or later meet a person who has previously read my works."
Literature Prize History
Before the announcement, betting agencies had ranked the frontrunners for this annual honor as an avant-garde author, an experimental Chinese writer, and Krasznahorkai.
The Nobel Prize in Literature has been presented on 117 previous occasions since the early 20th century. Current laureates have included Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, the poet, Handke and the Polish author. The most recent recipient was the South Korean writer, the from South Korea writer best known for her acclaimed novel.
Krasznahorkai will officially accept the prize medal and certificate in a function in December in Stockholm.
Updates to come