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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to from Hungary author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the Swedish Academy.

The Jury praised the seventy-one-year-old's "powerful and prophetic oeuvre that, within end-times terror, reaffirms the power of creative expression."

A Legacy of Dystopian Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dark, melancholic books, which have earned several accolades, for instance the recent National Book Award for literature in translation and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, notably his novels Satantango and another major work, have been made into movies.

Initial Success

Born in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s debut novel Satantango, a dark and hypnotic representation of a collapsing village society.

The book would eventually earn the Man Booker International Prize recognition in English nearly three decades later, in the 2010s.

A Distinctive Prose Technique

Often described as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his long, winding sentences (the twelve chapters of Satantango each are a one paragraph), dystopian and somber themes, and the kind of relentless power that has led literary experts to liken him to Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

Satantango was widely transformed into a extended film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"He is a significant epic writer in the Central European heritage that traces back to Kafka to Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdist elements and bizarre extremes," stated Anders Olsson, leader of the Nobel jury.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s style as having "progressed to … flowing structure with lengthy, intricate sentences lacking periods that has become his signature."

Critical Acclaim

Sontag has described the author as "today's Hungarian master of the apocalyptic," while Sebald praised the wide appeal of his vision.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s works have been rendered in the English language. The literary critic James Wood once noted that his books "circulate like rare currency."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been shaped by exploration as much as by literature. He first exited the communist his homeland in 1987, spending a period in the city for a fellowship, and later was inspired from east Asia – notably Asian nations – for novels such as one of his titles, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing War and War, he travelled widely across Europe and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment, stating the famous poet's assistance as crucial to finalizing the work.

Writer's Own Words

Questioned how he would explain his work in an discussion, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some short sentences; then additional phrases that are longer, and in the primary exceptionally extended paragraphs, for the duration of three and a half decades. Elegance in prose. Fun in darkness."

On fans finding his work for the initial encounter, he continued: "Should there be people who are new to my novels, I couldn’t recommend any specific title to explore to them; rather, I’d suggest them to step out, sit down somewhere, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no obligations, a clear mind, just remaining in quiet like rocks. They will eventually meet a person who has already read my novels."

Literature Prize History

Ahead of the reveal, betting agencies had ranked the frontrunners for this year's award as the Chinese writer, an avant garde from China author, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Writing has been awarded on one hundred seventeen past events since 1901. Recent winners include the French author, Dylan, Gurnah, the poet, Peter Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. The previous year's honoree was Han Kang, the from South Korea novelist renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially accept the medal and diploma in a event in winter in Stockholm, Sweden.

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