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The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been granted to from Hungary author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the committee.

The Committee praised the 71-year-old's "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, amidst cataclysmic fear, confirms the power of creative expression."

A Legacy of Apocalyptic Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his bleak, pensive novels, which have earned many accolades, including the recent National Book Award for literature in translation and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his books, among them his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into movies.

Debut Novel

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his 1985 initial work Satantango, a grim and hypnotic depiction of a disintegrating rural community.

The book would go on to win the Man Booker International Prize recognition in English nearly three decades later, in 2013.

An Unconventional Literary Style

Commonly referred to as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is famous for his extended, meandering phrases (the 12 chapters of Satantango each consist of a solitary block of text), bleak and somber themes, and the kind of relentless force that has led reviewers to liken him to Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

Satantango was notably adapted into a extended film by director the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"The author is a remarkable writer of epic tales in the European tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is characterised by absurdist elements and grotesque excess," stated the Nobel chair, head of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … flowing structure with lengthy, intricate sentences lacking full stops that has become his hallmark."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has described the author as "the contemporary Hungarian genius of the apocalyptic," while WG Sebald praised the broad relevance of his vision.

A handful of Krasznahorkai’s books have been rendered in the English language. The critic Wood once wrote that his books "are shared like rare currency."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s career has been influenced by journeys as much as by his writing. He first left communist Hungary in 1987, staying a period in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later found inspiration from east Asia – particularly Asian nations – for works such as a specific work, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing War and War, he travelled widely across European nations and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment, describing the renowned Beat poet's assistance as essential to finishing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would characterize his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from these characters, words; then from these words, some short sentences; then further lines that are longer, and in the chief exceptionally extended sentences, for the duration of 35 years. Beauty in prose. Fun in darkness."

On audiences discovering his work for the first time, he noted: "If there are individuals who have not yet read my works, I would refrain from advising a particular book to explore to them; instead, I’d recommend them to step out, rest at a location, perhaps by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, a clear mind, just being in tranquility like stones. They will in time come across a person who has previously read my novels."

Literature Prize History

Before the announcement, bookmakers had pegged the favourites for this year’s honor as Can Xue, an innovative Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Honor in Literary Arts has been awarded on 117 prior instances since the early 20th century. Latest winners have included Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Louise Glück, the Austrian and Tokarczuk. The previous year's honoree was Han Kang, the South Korean author best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the prize medal and certificate in a ceremony in winter in the Swedish capital.

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