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

The Academy commended the author's "compelling and visionary body of work that, in the midst of end-times terror, confirms the power of creative expression."

A Legacy of Apocalyptic Fiction

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

A number of of his novels, among them his titles Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into movies.

Early Beginnings

Born in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 debut novel his seminal novel, a bleak and mesmerising portrayal of a failing rural community.

The novel would eventually win the Man Booker International Prize award in English many years later, in the 2010s.

A Distinctive Literary Style

Frequently labeled as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is famous for his lengthy, intricate prose (the 12 chapters of Satantango each consist of a one paragraph), apocalyptic and melancholic themes, and the kind of unwavering intensity that has led literary experts to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

The novel was notably adapted into a extended film by director the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long creative partnership.

"He is a significant epic writer in the Central European tradition that traces back to Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," said the committee chair, chair of the Nobel committee.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … smooth structure with lengthy, intricate lines lacking full stops that has become his trademark."

Critical Acclaim

The critic Susan Sontag has described the author as "today's Hungarian master of apocalypse," while WG Sebald applauded the universality of his vision.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s works have been published in the English language. The critic Wood once wrote that his books "are shared like rare currency."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s career has been influenced by exploration as much as by literature. He first exited socialist his homeland in 1987, staying a year in Berlin for a scholarship, and later drew inspiration from Eastern Asia – particularly Asian nations – for books such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While developing War and War, he journeyed extensively across European nations and stayed in the legendary poet's New York apartment, describing the famous poet's assistance as vital to finishing the work.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Inquired how he would describe his oeuvre in an conversation, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from these characters, words; then from these words, some brief phrases; then more sentences that are longer, and in the primary exceptionally extended paragraphs, for the duration of three and a half decades. Elegance in language. Fun in hell."

On audiences encountering his work for the first time, he noted: "If there are readers who haven’t read my works, I would refrain from advising any specific title to read to them; on the contrary, I’d recommend them to go out, sit down at a location, perhaps by the edge of a stream, with nothing to do, a clear mind, just staying in tranquility like boulders. They will eventually come across an individual who has encountered my works."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, oddsmakers had listed the frontrunners for this year's honor as the Chinese writer, an avant garde Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been given on over a hundred previous occasions since 1901. Current recipients include Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Gurnah, Louise Glück, Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s honoree was Han Kang, the Korean writer best known for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally accept the medal and diploma in a ceremony in the month of December in Stockholm, Sweden.

Updates to come