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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2025 has been bestowed upon the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the committee.

The Academy highlighted the seventy-one-year-old's "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, within end-times dread, reasserts the power of the arts."

A Legacy of Apocalyptic Writing

Krasznahorkai is known for his bleak, pensive novels, which have earned several prizes, for instance the 2019 National Book Award for literature in translation and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, among them his fictional works his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into movies.

Early Beginnings

Originating in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 initial work Satantango, a dark and captivating representation of a disintegrating village society.

The work would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize recognition in English many years later, in the 2010s.

A Unique Prose Technique

Frequently labeled as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is famous for his long, winding prose (the twelve chapters of Satantango each comprise a single paragraph), apocalyptic and melancholic motifs, and the kind of relentless force that has led reviewers to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

This work was notably transformed into a seven-hour film by cinematic artist the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"The author is a great writer of epic tales in the Central European heritage that includes Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is defined by the absurd and grotesque exaggeration," stated the committee chair, leader of the Nobel committee.

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

Literary Praise

Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern Hungarian master of apocalypse," while WG Sebald praised the broad relevance of his perspective.

A handful of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in English. The literary critic James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like precious items."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s career has been influenced by exploration as much as by his writing. He first departed from communist the country in 1987, staying a twelve months in the city for a scholarship, and later found inspiration from Eastern Asia – notably Mongolia and China – for works such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing this novel, he travelled widely across the continent and resided temporarily in Ginsberg's New York residence, stating the famous poet's backing as crucial to finalizing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Questioned how he would describe his writing in an discussion, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, words; then from these words, some brief phrases; then additional phrases that are lengthier, and in the main exceptionally extended phrases, for the span of 35 years. Elegance in language. Enjoyment in hell."

On readers finding his work for the first time, he noted: "Should there be individuals who haven’t read my books, I would not suggest a particular book to explore to them; instead, I’d recommend them to go out, settle at a location, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, no thoughts, just being in silence like rocks. They will eventually meet someone who has already read my novels."

Award Background

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had pegged the frontrunners for this annual award as the Chinese writer, an experimental Chinese writer, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Prize in Literary Arts has been presented on over a hundred past events since 1901. Latest laureates have included the French author, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, the Austrian and Tokarczuk. The previous year's recipient was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer best known for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally be presented with the award and certificate in a event in winter in Stockholm, Sweden.

Updates to come