László Krasznahorkai Receives the 2025 Nobel Award in Literary Arts
The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Swedish Academy.
The Committee praised the author's "compelling and visionary body of work that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reasserts the force of art."
An Esteemed Career of Bleak Narratives
Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dystopian, melancholic works, which have garnered many accolades, such as the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.
A number of of his books, notably his novels Satantango and another major work, have been turned into cinematic works.
Early Beginnings
Hailing in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a grim and captivating representation of a failing countryside settlement.
The novel would eventually win the Man Booker International Prize recognition in the English language nearly three decades later, in 2013.
A Distinctive Prose Technique
Often described as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is famous for his lengthy, intricate prose (the twelve chapters of his novel each comprise a single paragraph), bleak and melancholic subjects, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led critics to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.
The novel was famously adapted into a seven-hour movie by filmmaker the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a lengthy artistic collaboration.
"Krasznahorkai is a remarkable epic writer in the Central European heritage that extends through Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by the absurd and grotesque exaggeration," commented the committee chair, head of the Nobel jury.
He characterized Krasznahorkai’s style as having "evolved into … continuous language with extended, meandering lines devoid of periods that has become his trademark."
Expert Opinions
The critic Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern Hungarian genius of end-times," while Sebald praised the wide appeal of his outlook.
Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in English. The reviewer James Wood once remarked that his books "get passed around like rare currency."
International Inspiration
Krasznahorkai’s career has been shaped by journeys as much as by his writing. He first exited communist his homeland in 1987, staying a period in Berlin for a grant, and later drew inspiration from Eastern Asia – especially China and Mongolia – for books such as a specific work, and his book on China.
While developing this novel, he journeyed extensively across European nations and stayed in the legendary poet's New York apartment, stating the renowned Beat poet's assistance as vital to completing the novel.
Author's Perspective
Inquired how he would explain his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai answered: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some brief phrases; then additional phrases that are more extended, and in the main very long phrases, for the period of three and a half decades. Elegance in language. Enjoyment in hell."
On readers encountering his writing for the first time, he continued: "If there are people who haven’t read my works, I would refrain from advising a particular book to read to them; instead, I’d recommend them to step out, rest somewhere, possibly by the banks of a creek, with no obligations, no thoughts, just remaining in tranquility like stones. They will sooner or later encounter an individual who has already read my novels."
Award Background
Ahead of the reveal, oddsmakers had pegged the top contenders for this year's honor as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese writer, and Krasznahorkai.
The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been given on over a hundred past events since 1901. Current laureates are Ernaux, Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, the poet, Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. Last year’s recipient was the South Korean writer, the from South Korea novelist most famous for her acclaimed novel.
Krasznahorkai will formally receive the award and certificate in a event in December in Stockholm.
Additional details forthcoming
