Stockholm, Oct 9: Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre” that reaffirms the power of art amid apocalyptic terror.
Known for his philosophical, bleakly comic novels written in sprawling sentences, Krasznahorkai was praised by the Nobel Committee for his “artistic gaze free of illusion” and his clear-sighted view of the fragility of social order.
Best known for novels like Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance—both adapted into films by director Béla Tarr—Krasznahorkai is regarded as a major figure in the Central European literary tradition, following in the footsteps of Kafka and Thomas Bernhard.
Other acclaimed works include Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming and travel-inspired writings like A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South…, reflecting his extensive journeys across Asia.
Born in Gyula, Hungary, in 1954, Krasznahorkai studied law before turning to literature. Over a nearly 50-year career, he has received multiple honors, including the 2015 Man Booker International Prize and the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature in the U.S. Critics have lauded his intricate, sentence-rich prose; Susan Sontag once called him the “contemporary master of the Apocalypse.”
Krasznahorkai has also been a vocal critic of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, particularly condemning the government’s neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite political differences, Orbán congratulated him on Facebook, calling him “the pride of Hungary.”
In his first teaching document, Nobel Committee member Steve Sem-Sandberg emphasized Krasznahorkai’s ability to immerse readers in his uniquely constructed literary universe. He noted the author had long been on the committee’s radar and described his work as “half a century of pure excellence.”
At 71, Krasznahorkai did not appear at the prize announcement and had no immediate public response.
This win makes him the first Hungarian laureate since Imre Kertész in 2002, joining a distinguished group of past Nobel literature winners, including Toni Morrison, Ernest Hemingway, and Kazuo Ishiguro. Krasznahorkai’s close ties to literary figures like Allen Ginsberg, and his engagement with themes of despair, absurdism, and social decay, have shaped his distinctive narrative voice.
The Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded by the Swedish Academy, is among the most prestigious global literary honors. This year’s prize includes a monetary award of 11 million Swedish kronor (approx. $1.2 million), a gold medal, and a diploma. The awards ceremony will be held on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
The Nobel Peace Prize is scheduled to be announced on Friday, followed by the Economics Prize on Monday. (AP)
