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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2025 has been granted to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the Nobel awarding body.

The Committee praised the seventy-one-year-old's "powerful and prophetic oeuvre that, within end-times dread, reasserts the strength of the arts."

A Legacy of Bleak Writing

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his bleak, somber novels, which have earned numerous prizes, such as the recent National Book Award for international writing and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, among them his titles his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into movies.

Initial Success

Born in Gyula, Hungary in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his mid-80s first book Satantango, a dark and captivating portrayal of a collapsing rural community.

The book would go on to secure the Man Booker International Prize honor in English many years later, in the 2010s.

An Unconventional Prose Technique

Often described as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is famous for his long, winding phrases (the twelve chapters of Satantango each consist of a solitary block of text), apocalyptic and pensive themes, and the kind of unwavering force that has led literary experts to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

This work was widely transformed into a extended motion picture by director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"Krasznahorkai is a remarkable author of grand narratives in the Central European tradition that includes Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is characterised by absurdism and bizarre extremes," stated the Nobel chair, head of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "progressed to … flowing language with extended, meandering phrases devoid of punctuation that has become his trademark."

Critical Acclaim

The critic Susan Sontag has called the author as "the contemporary Hungarian genius of end-times," while Sebald praised the wide appeal of his outlook.

A handful of Krasznahorkai’s works have been rendered in English. The literary critic James Wood once wrote that his books "are shared like precious items."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been influenced by travel as much as by language. He first exited communist Hungary in 1987, residing a twelve months in the city for a grant, and later found inspiration from east Asia – especially Asian nations – for works such as The Prisoner of Urga, and his book on China.

While working on War and War, he journeyed extensively across European nations and resided temporarily in the legendary poet's New York residence, stating the legendary poet's backing as crucial to completing the novel.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Questioned how he would describe his oeuvre in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Letters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some short sentences; then further lines that are longer, and in the main exceptionally extended sentences, for the span of 35 years. Beauty in prose. Fun in hell."

On audiences discovering his books for the first time, he continued: "Should there be individuals who are new to my works, I would not suggest a particular book to explore to them; instead, I’d suggest them to step out, settle at a location, perhaps by the edge of a stream, with nothing to do, a clear mind, just staying in tranquility like boulders. They will in time meet a person who has previously read my books."

Literature Prize History

Before the announcement, oddsmakers had listed the favourites for this year's prize as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese writer, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Prize in Literary Arts has been presented on over a hundred previous occasions since 1901. Latest laureates have included Annie Ernaux, Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Louise Glück, Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. Last year’s honoree was Han Kang, the Korean novelist most famous for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the prize medal and diploma in a function in December in the Swedish capital.

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