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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been granted to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the committee.

The Committee praised the author's "powerful and prophetic oeuvre that, amidst apocalyptic fear, reasserts the strength of the arts."

An Esteemed Career of Apocalyptic Fiction

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, somber novels, which have won several awards, including the recent National Book Award for literature in translation and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his novels, notably his titles Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into cinematic works.

Debut Novel

Born in Gyula, Hungary in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his mid-80s first book Satantango, a grim and captivating depiction of a collapsing countryside settlement.

The book would eventually secure the Man Booker International Prize award in the English language many years later, in 2013.

A Distinctive Literary Style

Frequently labeled as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is known for his long, winding phrases (the twelve chapters of the book each consist of a one paragraph), bleak and melancholic themes, and the kind of unwavering force that has led literary experts to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

This work was notably adapted into a seven-hour movie by cinematic artist Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long creative partnership.

"Krasznahorkai is a remarkable writer of epic tales in the central European heritage that extends through Franz Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is marked by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," said the Nobel chair, chair of the Nobel committee.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "progressed to … flowing syntax with lengthy, intricate lines devoid of periods that has become his hallmark."

Expert Opinions

Sontag has called the author as "the modern Hungarian master of apocalypse," while Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been rendered in English translation. The critic Wood once remarked that his books "circulate like precious items."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s career has been shaped by travel as much as by his writing. He first departed from socialist the country in 1987, spending a year in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later found inspiration from Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for works such as a specific work, and another novel.

While working on War and War, he journeyed extensively across the continent and stayed in the legendary poet's New York home, noting the renowned Beat poet's assistance as crucial to completing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would characterize his oeuvre in an conversation, Krasznahorkai answered: "Characters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some short sentences; then further lines that are lengthier, and in the primary very long paragraphs, for the period of decades. Beauty in prose. Fun in despair."

On readers finding his work for the first time, he continued: "If there are people who have not yet read my novels, I would not suggest any specific title to explore to them; rather, I’d recommend them to venture outside, rest in a place, perhaps by the edge of a stream, with no obligations, a clear mind, just remaining in quiet like stones. They will in time meet a person who has already read my books."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had listed the top contenders for this year's prize as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Honor in Literary Arts has been awarded on over a hundred prior instances since 1901. Recent laureates include the French author, the musician, the Tanzanian-born writer, Louise Glück, the Austrian and the Polish author. Last year’s recipient was Han Kang, the Korean writer most famous for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the award and document in a ceremony in the month of December in Stockholm, Sweden.

Updates to come