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The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been bestowed upon the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Nobel awarding body.

The Jury highlighted the 71-year-old's "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, within end-times fear, reasserts the power of creative expression."

An Esteemed Career of Apocalyptic Fiction

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dystopian, melancholic works, which have won many accolades, including the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his books, including his fictional works his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into feature films.

Debut Novel

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first made his mark with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a bleak and hypnotic portrayal of a disintegrating countryside settlement.

The book would go on to secure the Man Booker International Prize recognition in the English language decades after, in 2013.

An Unconventional Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering phrases (the dozen sections of the book each consist of a single paragraph), apocalyptic and pensive subjects, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led critics to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

Satantango was widely made into a lengthy film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"He is a great epic writer in the central European literary tradition that includes Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and bizarre extremes," said the committee chair, chair of the Nobel panel.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "evolved into … smooth structure with long, winding lines without full stops that has become his signature."

Literary Praise

Sontag has referred to the author as "the modern Hungarian genius of end-times," while the writer W.G. Sebald commended the broad relevance of his vision.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been translated into the English language. The critic James Wood once noted that his books "circulate like rare currency."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s career has been molded by travel as much as by his writing. He first departed from communist the country in the late 80s, spending a twelve months in the city for a grant, and later was inspired from east Asia – notably Mongolia and China – for novels such as The Prisoner of Urga, and his book on China.

While developing War and War, he explored across Europe and stayed in Ginsberg's New York apartment, describing the famous writer's support as crucial to finishing the book.

Author's Perspective

Questioned how he would explain his work in an interview, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some short sentences; then further lines that are longer, and in the primary very long sentences, for the period of decades. Beauty in writing. Enjoyment in darkness."

On fans finding his writing for the initial encounter, he noted: "For any readers who haven’t read my works, I couldn’t recommend anything to read to them; rather, I’d suggest them to go out, sit down in a place, perhaps by the side of a brook, with no obligations, no thoughts, just being in tranquility like rocks. They will eventually encounter a person who has encountered my novels."

Award Background

Before the announcement, betting agencies had ranked the frontrunners for this year’s prize as an avant-garde author, an avant garde Chinese novelist, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Literature has been given on 117 past events since 1901. Recent winners are Annie Ernaux, the musician, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Peter Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s recipient was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally be presented with the prize medal and document in a ceremony in winter in the Swedish capital.

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