🔗 Share this article

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

The Academy commended the author's "powerful and prophetic body of work that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the strength of the arts."

A Legacy of Apocalyptic Narratives

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, melancholic books, which have earned many prizes, including the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

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

Debut Novel

Originating in a Hungarian locale in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a bleak and captivating depiction of a disintegrating countryside settlement.

The novel would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize honor in translation decades after, in the 2010s.

A Distinctive Literary Style

Often described as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering phrases (the 12 chapters of his novel each comprise a single paragraph), bleak and somber themes, and the kind of unwavering power that has led critics to compare him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

The novel was widely transformed into a seven-hour film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long artistic collaboration.

"The author is a remarkable epic writer in the European heritage that includes Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by absurdism and grotesque exaggeration," commented the Nobel chair, head of the Nobel committee.

He described Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … smooth language with long, winding phrases devoid of full stops that has become his signature."

Literary Praise

Sontag has described the author as "today's from Hungary genius of end-times," while WG Sebald commended the broad relevance of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s works have been translated into English translation. The critic James Wood once wrote that his books "are shared like valuable artifacts."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been shaped by journeys as much as by language. He first left the communist Hungary in 1987, staying a period in Berlin for a grant, and later was inspired from east Asia – notably Asian nations – for books such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While working on War and War, he travelled widely across the continent and stayed in the legendary poet's New York home, stating the legendary poet's support as vital to finishing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Inquired how he would characterize his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai answered: "Characters; then from these characters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some brief phrases; then further lines that are lengthier, and in the chief very long phrases, for the span of three and a half decades. Beauty in language. Enjoyment in hell."

On readers discovering his writing for the first time, he continued: "For any individuals who are new to my works, I would not suggest a particular book to explore to them; rather, I’d suggest them to venture outside, sit down in a place, maybe by the side of a brook, with nothing to do, nothing to think about, just remaining in tranquility like stones. They will in time meet a person who has previously read my works."

Award Background

Ahead of the reveal, betting agencies had listed the top contenders for this year’s award as Can Xue, an innovative from China author, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Prize in Literary Arts has been given on over a hundred past events since the early 20th century. Recent recipients include Ernaux, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, Handke and the Polish author. The most recent honoree was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer most famous for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will officially be presented with the award and certificate in a event in winter in the Swedish capital.

Updates to come