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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the Swedish Academy.

The Jury highlighted the 71-year-old's "powerful and prophetic oeuvre that, within cataclysmic terror, reaffirms the force of art."

A Renowned Path of Bleak Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dark, melancholic works, which have garnered several awards, including the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his novels, notably his novels his debut and another major work, have been made into movies.

Debut Novel

Originating in a Hungarian locale in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his mid-80s first book Satantango, a grim and mesmerising portrayal of a disintegrating countryside settlement.

The novel would go on to win the Man Booker International Prize honor in English decades after, in 2013.

An Unconventional Prose Technique

Commonly referred to as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is famous for his lengthy, intricate prose (the dozen sections of his novel each consist of a one paragraph), dystopian and melancholic motifs, and the kind of relentless force that has led literary experts to compare him to Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

This work was famously made into a extended film by cinematic artist the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long artistic collaboration.

"The author is a significant epic writer in the Central European heritage that traces back to Franz Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by the absurd and grotesque excess," commented the committee chair, chair of the Nobel jury.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "developed towards … flowing structure with lengthy, intricate phrases without periods that has become his hallmark."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has called the author as "the contemporary Hungarian expert of apocalypse," while WG Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his outlook.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s works have been published in English translation. The reviewer James Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like precious items."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been influenced by travel as much as by his writing. He first left communist his homeland in 1987, staying a twelve months in Berlin for a fellowship, and later found inspiration from Eastern Asia – notably Mongolia and China – for works such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While developing this novel, he travelled widely across Europe and stayed in Ginsberg's New York apartment, describing the renowned writer's backing as essential to finishing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Inquired how he would describe his work in an discussion, Krasznahorkai responded: "Letters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some short sentences; then additional phrases that are longer, and in the main exceptionally extended phrases, for the span of 35 years. Beauty in writing. Enjoyment in despair."

On readers encountering his books for the first time, he noted: "For any readers who are new to my books, I would refrain from advising anything to read to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to step out, rest somewhere, maybe by the side of a brook, with no tasks, no thoughts, just being in tranquility like boulders. They will sooner or later encounter someone who has encountered my works."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, oddsmakers had pegged the top contenders for this annual honor as an avant-garde author, an avant garde Chinese author, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Honor in Literary Arts has been given on 117 past events since 1901. Latest laureates have included Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s winner was Han Kang, the South Korean novelist most famous for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially accept the award and certificate in a function in the month of December in the Swedish capital.

Additional details forthcoming