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

The Committee commended the author's "compelling and visionary body of work that, in the midst of apocalyptic dread, reasserts the strength of art."

A Renowned Path of Apocalyptic Writing

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his bleak, somber works, which have won many accolades, for instance the recent National Book Award for literature in translation and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

Several of his works, including his titles Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been turned into cinematic works.

Debut Novel

Originating in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a grim and hypnotic representation of a collapsing countryside settlement.

The work would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize honor in the English language nearly three decades later, in 2013.

A Unique Writing Approach

Frequently labeled as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his lengthy, intricate sentences (the twelve chapters of Satantango each comprise a solitary block of text), apocalyptic and pensive themes, and the kind of relentless intensity that has led literary experts to liken him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

The novel was widely adapted into a seven-hour movie by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long artistic collaboration.

"The author is a significant writer of epic tales in the European literary tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to Bernhard, and is defined by absurdism and bizarre extremes," commented the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel committee.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s style as having "developed towards … smooth syntax with extended, meandering sentences devoid of punctuation that has become his trademark."

Critical Acclaim

Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern Hungarian master of end-times," while WG Sebald commended the wide appeal of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been translated into English. The literary critic James Wood once remarked that his books "are shared like valuable artifacts."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been influenced by journeys as much as by literature. He first exited socialist the country in 1987, residing a twelve months in the city for a scholarship, and later drew inspiration from Eastern Asia – especially Asian nations – for novels such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While working on War and War, he travelled widely across Europe and resided temporarily in the legendary poet's New York residence, stating the legendary poet's backing as vital to completing the book.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Asked how he would characterize his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai answered: "Letters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some concise lines; then additional phrases that are lengthier, and in the primary very long paragraphs, for the span of decades. Beauty in prose. Fun in despair."

On audiences discovering his writing for the first time, he noted: "Should there be readers who haven’t read my works, I would refrain from advising any specific title to peruse to them; rather, I’d advise them to venture outside, rest somewhere, possibly by the banks of a creek, with nothing to do, a clear mind, just being in silence like rocks. They will sooner or later meet someone who has encountered my novels."

Award Background

Ahead of the reveal, oddsmakers had ranked the top contenders for this annual prize as an avant-garde author, an experimental from China author, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been presented on over a hundred prior instances since the early 20th century. Latest winners have included Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Handke and Tokarczuk. The most recent winner was the South Korean writer, the South Korean writer renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially be presented with the prize medal and diploma in a function in winter in Stockholm, Sweden.

Additional details forthcoming