🔗 Share this article

The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the Nobel awarding body.

The Academy commended the seventy-one-year-old's "powerful and prophetic oeuvre that, in the midst of cataclysmic fear, confirms the strength of the arts."

An Esteemed Career of Apocalyptic Fiction

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his bleak, somber novels, which have garnered several accolades, including the 2019 National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Several of his books, notably his fictional works his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into movies.

Early Beginnings

Originating in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s first book his seminal novel, a grim and captivating depiction of a collapsing rural community.

The work would go on to secure the Man Booker International Prize recognition in the English language nearly three decades later, in the 2010s.

A Unique Literary Style

Commonly referred to as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is known for his lengthy, intricate sentences (the dozen sections of his novel each are a single paragraph), bleak and somber themes, and the kind of relentless force that has led reviewers to liken him to Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

Satantango was widely adapted into a seven-hour film by cinematic artist Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"The author is a remarkable epic writer in the Central European literary tradition that includes Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is characterised by the absurd and grotesque exaggeration," said the committee chair, chair of the Nobel committee.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "evolved into … flowing language with long, winding phrases devoid of periods that has become his trademark."

Expert Opinions

Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern from Hungary master of end-times," while Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been translated into the English language. The critic Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like valuable artifacts."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been influenced by travel as much as by language. He first exited communist Hungary in the late 80s, spending a twelve months in the city for a scholarship, and later drew inspiration from Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for novels such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While writing War and War, he journeyed extensively across the continent and stayed in Allen Ginsberg’s New York residence, stating the legendary Beat poet's backing as crucial to finalizing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would explain his writing in an interview, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some concise lines; then further lines that are more extended, and in the main extremely lengthy phrases, for the span of decades. Beauty in prose. Enjoyment in darkness."

On readers encountering his writing for the first time, he continued: "If there are individuals who have not yet read my works, I couldn’t recommend anything to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d recommend them to venture outside, rest somewhere, maybe by the banks of a creek, with no obligations, nothing to think about, just staying in tranquility like stones. They will eventually meet a person who has already read my books."

Literature Prize History

Before the announcement, betting agencies had listed the favourites for this year’s award as an avant-garde author, an experimental Chinese author, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Honor in Literature has been awarded on one hundred seventeen past events since 1901. Recent laureates are the French author, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, the poet, the Austrian and Olga Tokarczuk. The most recent recipient was Han Kang, the Korean novelist renowned for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the prize medal and document in a event in December in Stockholm.

Updates to come