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The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been bestowed upon Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the Swedish Academy.

The Jury praised the author's "powerful and prophetic body of work that, within end-times terror, reaffirms the strength of the arts."

A Renowned Path of Bleak Fiction

Krasznahorkai is known for his bleak, somber novels, which have garnered numerous accolades, including the 2019 National Book Award for literature in translation and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

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

Initial Success

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 initial work Satantango, a grim and mesmerising depiction of a failing village society.

The book would eventually win the Man Booker International Prize honor in translation decades after, in the 2010s.

A Unique Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is known for his long, winding phrases (the dozen sections of his novel each consist of a solitary block of text), apocalyptic and melancholic motifs, and the kind of unwavering intensity that has led literary experts to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

This work was notably adapted into a extended motion picture by cinematic artist Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a lengthy artistic collaboration.

"The author is a great author of grand narratives in the central European heritage that extends through Kafka to Bernhard, and is marked by absurdism and grotesque excess," commented the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel committee.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "developed towards … continuous language with long, winding lines devoid of full stops that has become his signature."

Critical Acclaim

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

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been rendered in the English language. The reviewer Wood once remarked that his books "circulate like valuable artifacts."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been shaped by travel as much as by his writing. He first left communist the country in 1987, residing a period in Berlin for a scholarship, and later was inspired from Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for novels such as a specific work, and another novel.

While writing this novel, he journeyed extensively across European nations and stayed in Allen Ginsberg’s New York home, stating the legendary writer's support as essential to finishing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Inquired how he would describe his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some concise lines; then more sentences that are lengthier, and in the chief exceptionally extended phrases, for the period of decades. Elegance in language. Fun in despair."

On fans encountering his books for the first time, he added: "For any people who are new to my works, I couldn’t recommend a particular book to peruse to them; rather, I’d recommend them to go out, sit down at a location, perhaps by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, nothing to think about, just being in silence like boulders. They will sooner or later encounter a person who has previously read my novels."

Award Background

Prior to the declaration, oddsmakers had ranked the top contenders for this year's prize as an avant-garde author, an avant garde from China novelist, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Literature has been presented on 117 previous occasions since 1901. Current recipients have included Ernaux, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, the Austrian and the Polish author. Last year’s honoree was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer renowned for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially be presented with the prize medal and certificate in a ceremony in December in the Swedish capital.

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