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

The Committee commended the author's "powerful and prophetic collection that, in the midst of cataclysmic terror, reaffirms the strength of the arts."

A Renowned Path of Dystopian Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dystopian, melancholic novels, which have won many awards, for instance the recent National Book Award for international writing and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his works, notably his titles his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into movies.

Early Beginnings

Born in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 first book his seminal novel, a dark and mesmerising representation of a collapsing rural community.

The work would later win the Man Booker International Prize honor in translation nearly three decades later, in the 2010s.

A Distinctive Prose Technique

Frequently labeled as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his long, winding prose (the 12 chapters of his novel each are a one paragraph), dystopian and pensive themes, and the kind of relentless force that has led critics to compare him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

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

"He is a significant writer of epic tales in the central European tradition that traces back to Kafka to Bernhard, and is characterised by the absurd and grotesque exaggeration," said Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s prose as having "developed towards … smooth syntax with extended, meandering phrases lacking punctuation that has become his hallmark."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern Hungarian genius of end-times," while WG Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his outlook.

A handful of Krasznahorkai’s books have been published in the English language. The reviewer James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like rare currency."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by journeys as much as by literature. He first departed from socialist Hungary in 1987, staying a twelve months in the city for a fellowship, and later was inspired from Eastern Asia – particularly Asian nations – for works such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While working on War and War, he explored across Europe and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment, describing the famous Beat poet's support as crucial to finishing the novel.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Asked how he would characterize his work in an conversation, Krasznahorkai responded: "Letters; then from these characters, words; then from these terms, some brief phrases; then additional phrases that are more extended, and in the chief extremely lengthy paragraphs, for the period of 35 years. Elegance in language. Enjoyment in darkness."

On audiences discovering his work for the first time, he continued: "For any individuals who are new to my novels, I would not suggest any specific title to explore to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to step out, settle in a place, maybe by the side of a brook, with nothing to do, no thoughts, just being in tranquility like boulders. They will eventually meet an individual who has previously read my novels."

Nobel Prize Context

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had listed the frontrunners for this year’s honor as Can Xue, an experimental Chinese writer, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Writing has been awarded on one hundred seventeen previous occasions since 1901. Latest laureates have included Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Handke and the Polish author. The most recent winner was Han Kang, the South Korean author most famous for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially receive the medal and diploma in a event in winter in Stockholm.

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