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

The Committee praised the author's "compelling and visionary collection that, within cataclysmic dread, reasserts the force of art."

A Legacy of Dystopian Writing

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dystopian, pensive books, which have earned many prizes, including the 2019 National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his novels, notably his fictional works Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into movies.

Early Beginnings

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first made his mark with his mid-80s initial work his seminal novel, a grim and mesmerising representation of a failing village society.

The work would go on to earn the Man Booker International Prize award in translation nearly three decades later, in the 2010s.

A Unique Literary Style

Often described as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is known for his extended, meandering sentences (the dozen sections of the book each comprise a one paragraph), apocalyptic and melancholic motifs, and the kind of persistent force that has led reviewers to compare him to Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

The novel was famously transformed into a lengthy motion picture by director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long working relationship.

"The author is a significant author of grand narratives in the Central European literary tradition that includes Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is marked by the absurd and bizarre extremes," said the committee chair, head of the Nobel committee.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "developed towards … flowing syntax with long, winding lines lacking full stops that has become his trademark."

Critical Acclaim

The critic Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern from Hungary genius of end-times," while Sebald praised the broad relevance of his vision.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s works have been published in the English language. The literary critic James Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like precious items."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been shaped by exploration as much as by language. He first left the communist his homeland in 1987, residing a period in Berlin for a fellowship, and later was inspired from east Asia – particularly Mongolia and China – for books such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While working on War and War, he journeyed extensively across Europe and stayed in Ginsberg's New York home, describing the legendary writer's support as essential to completing the book.

Author's Perspective

Questioned how he would characterize his oeuvre in an discussion, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from these characters, words; then from these terms, some brief phrases; then further lines that are longer, and in the primary exceptionally extended paragraphs, for the span of 35 years. Elegance in writing. Enjoyment in hell."

On fans discovering his books for the initial encounter, he continued: "For any readers who are new to my books, I would refrain from advising any specific title to explore to them; instead, I’d advise them to step out, sit down somewhere, maybe by the side of a brook, with no obligations, a clear mind, just being in quiet like rocks. They will eventually meet a person who has already read my novels."

Literature Prize History

Before the announcement, betting agencies had pegged the frontrunners for this annual prize as Can Xue, an experimental Chinese author, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Writing has been presented on 117 past events since 1901. Latest recipients are Ernaux, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Louise Glück, the Austrian and Tokarczuk. The previous year's winner was Han Kang, the South Korean writer renowned for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally be presented with the prize medal and diploma in a ceremony in winter in Stockholm.

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