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The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2025 has been awarded to from Hungary author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the committee.

The Committee praised the author's "compelling and visionary body of work that, within apocalyptic dread, reaffirms the strength of creative expression."

An Esteemed Career of Dystopian Writing

Krasznahorkai is known for his dark, pensive works, which have won several awards, including the recent National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his novels, among them his titles Satantango and another major work, have been turned into movies.

Debut Novel

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 first book his seminal novel, a grim and hypnotic representation of a disintegrating rural community.

The book would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize recognition in English decades after, in 2013.

A Distinctive Prose Technique

Often described as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his lengthy, intricate phrases (the 12 chapters of his novel each comprise a solitary block of text), dystopian and pensive subjects, and the kind of relentless force that has led literary experts to compare him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

This work was widely transformed into a seven-hour motion picture by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"He is a significant author of grand narratives in the Central European heritage that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is defined by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," commented Anders Olsson, leader of the Nobel panel.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "progressed to … continuous syntax with long, winding lines lacking periods that has become his trademark."

Expert Opinions

The critic Susan Sontag has described the author as "the modern Hungarian genius of the apocalyptic," while Sebald commended the universality of his vision.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been rendered in English translation. The critic James Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like rare currency."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been shaped by travel as much as by language. He first left the communist the country in 1987, staying a year in the city for a fellowship, and later found inspiration from east Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for books such as one of his titles, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing this novel, he explored across the continent and lived for a time in the legendary poet's New York apartment, stating the famous poet's support as crucial to completing the work.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Questioned how he would characterize his oeuvre in an conversation, Krasznahorkai responded: "Letters; then from these characters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some short sentences; then more sentences that are more extended, and in the chief extremely lengthy sentences, for the span of three and a half decades. Elegance in prose. Fun in darkness."

On fans encountering his work for the initial encounter, he added: "If there are individuals who haven’t read my books, I couldn’t recommend any specific title to explore to them; rather, I’d advise them to step out, rest at a location, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, a clear mind, just remaining in tranquility like rocks. They will sooner or later meet an individual who has encountered my books."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had pegged the frontrunners for this year’s honor as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese writer, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Writing has been given on 117 previous occasions since the early 20th century. Current laureates are the French author, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Peter Handke and the Polish author. The previous year's honoree was the South Korean writer, the South Korean novelist best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially be presented with the award and diploma in a function in December in the Swedish capital.

Additional details forthcoming