🔗 Share this article

The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been bestowed upon Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the Swedish Academy.

The Academy commended the author's "compelling and visionary collection that, within cataclysmic fear, confirms the power of art."

An Esteemed Career of Apocalyptic Writing

Krasznahorkai is known for his dystopian, pensive books, which have garnered numerous awards, including the 2019 National Book Award for translated literature and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, notably his fictional works Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been turned into movies.

Early Beginnings

Born in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 debut novel his seminal novel, a bleak and mesmerising depiction of a failing countryside settlement.

The work would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize award in English many years later, in 2013.

A Distinctive Writing Approach

Frequently labeled as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is famous for his lengthy, intricate phrases (the 12 chapters of his novel each are a single paragraph), bleak and pensive themes, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led critics to draw parallels with Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

The novel was famously made into a seven-hour film by director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"He is a great author of grand narratives in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is defined by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," commented Anders Olsson, leader of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "developed towards … smooth syntax with long, winding sentences lacking periods that has become his hallmark."

Critical Acclaim

Susan Sontag has called the author as "the contemporary Hungarian master of end-times," while Sebald commended the universality of his outlook.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been published in the English language. The critic James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like rare currency."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s career has been shaped by travel as much as by literature. He first exited socialist Hungary in the late 80s, spending a twelve months in Berlin for a fellowship, and later found inspiration from east Asia – especially Mongolia and China – for works such as The Prisoner of Urga, and his book on China.

While developing War and War, he explored across European nations and lived for a time in the legendary poet's New York apartment, describing the renowned writer's assistance as crucial to finishing the work.

Author's Perspective

Asked how he would describe his writing in an interview, Krasznahorkai said: "Characters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some concise lines; then further lines that are more extended, and in the chief very long paragraphs, for the span of three and a half decades. Elegance in prose. Fun in hell."

On audiences finding his writing for the first time, he continued: "For any people who are new to my books, I would refrain from advising a particular book to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d suggest them to go out, rest at a location, perhaps by the banks of a creek, with no tasks, a clear mind, just being in quiet like rocks. They will eventually encounter someone who has already read my books."

Nobel Prize Context

Ahead of the reveal, bookmakers had pegged the top contenders for this annual award as Can Xue, an experimental from China novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been presented on 117 past events since 1901. Latest laureates have included Annie Ernaux, Dylan, Gurnah, Louise Glück, Peter Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. The most recent recipient was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially accept the medal and document in a event in the month of December in Stockholm.

Additional details forthcoming