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

The Committee highlighted the seventy-one-year-old's "compelling and visionary collection that, within end-times terror, reaffirms the power of creative expression."

An Esteemed Career of Bleak Fiction

Krasznahorkai is known for his bleak, pensive novels, which have earned many accolades, such as the 2019 National Book Award for literature in translation and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his novels, among them his fictional works Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into cinematic works.

Initial Success

Born in a Hungarian locale in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 debut novel Satantango, a bleak and captivating representation of a disintegrating village society.

The book would eventually secure the Man Booker International Prize honor in English nearly three decades later, in 2013.

A Unique Prose Technique

Frequently labeled as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering prose (the twelve chapters of his novel each consist of a one paragraph), apocalyptic and somber subjects, and the kind of relentless force that has led critics to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

This work was widely transformed into a lengthy movie by director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"Krasznahorkai is a remarkable author of grand narratives in the European tradition that extends through Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess," said the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel jury.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "evolved into … continuous syntax with long, winding phrases lacking punctuation that has become his trademark."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has called the author as "today's Hungarian master of end-times," while Sebald commended the wide appeal of his outlook.

A handful of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been translated into the English language. The literary critic Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like precious items."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been shaped by journeys as much as by language. He first departed from socialist Hungary in 1987, spending a period in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later was inspired from Eastern Asia – notably Asian nations – for works such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While working on this novel, he explored across Europe and stayed in the legendary poet's New York home, describing the legendary poet's support as essential to finalizing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Questioned how he would explain his work in an discussion, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some brief phrases; then more sentences that are longer, and in the primary exceptionally extended phrases, for the span of 35 years. Elegance in prose. Enjoyment in despair."

On audiences encountering his books for the first time, he noted: "If there are individuals who have not yet read my novels, I would not suggest anything to read to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to venture outside, settle somewhere, possibly by the side of a brook, with no tasks, no thoughts, just remaining in tranquility like boulders. They will sooner or later encounter a person who has encountered my novels."

Award Background

Before the announcement, oddsmakers had listed the frontrunners for this year’s honor as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai.

The Nobel Honor in Literature has been awarded on 117 previous occasions since 1901. Latest laureates have included Annie Ernaux, the musician, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, Peter Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s recipient was Han Kang, the South Korean novelist best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially accept the medal and document in a function in winter in Stockholm.

Additional details forthcoming