🔗 Share this article

The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been granted to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the Swedish Academy.

The Committee praised the seventy-one-year-old's "gripping and imaginative body of work that, in the midst of end-times terror, reaffirms the force of art."

An Esteemed Career of Bleak Writing

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his bleak, melancholic works, which have won many accolades, such as the recent National Book Award for translated literature and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

Several of his novels, including his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into movies.

Early Beginnings

Originating in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his 1985 first book Satantango, a grim and hypnotic depiction of a disintegrating village society.

The novel would later win the Man Booker International Prize honor in the English language many years later, in 2013.

An Unconventional Writing Approach

Frequently labeled as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his long, winding phrases (the 12 chapters of his novel each consist of a single paragraph), apocalyptic and melancholic themes, and the kind of relentless force that has led literary experts to liken him to literary giants like Kafka.

The novel was widely transformed into a lengthy film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"He is a remarkable epic writer in the central European literary tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is marked by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," stated the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel committee.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s style as having "evolved into … smooth language with extended, meandering phrases lacking full stops that has become his hallmark."

Critical Acclaim

The critic Susan Sontag has described the author as "today's Hungarian expert of end-times," while Sebald commended the universality of his perspective.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in the English language. The critic Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like precious items."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been influenced by travel as much as by literature. He first departed from communist the country in the late 80s, spending a twelve months in the city for a grant, and later found inspiration from east Asia – particularly Mongolia and China – for books such as The Prisoner of Urga, and his book on China.

While developing War and War, he travelled widely across Europe and stayed in Ginsberg's New York home, stating the legendary writer's support as crucial to completing the work.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Inquired how he would explain his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai answered: "Letters; then from these characters, words; then from these words, some brief phrases; then further lines that are longer, and in the primary very long paragraphs, for the duration of 35 years. Beauty in language. Fun in darkness."

On fans discovering his writing for the initial encounter, he noted: "Should there be people who haven’t read my novels, I would refrain from advising any specific title to read to them; rather, I’d advise them to venture outside, rest in a place, maybe by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, no thoughts, just being in tranquility like stones. They will sooner or later encounter someone who has already read my books."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had listed the top contenders for this year's prize as an avant-garde author, an avant garde from China writer, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been presented on over a hundred previous occasions since 1901. Current laureates have included the French author, Dylan, Gurnah, the poet, Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s winner was Han Kang, the South Korean writer most famous for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially accept the prize medal and diploma in a ceremony in winter in Stockholm.

Additional details forthcoming