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

The Committee highlighted the 71-year-old's "powerful and prophetic collection that, within end-times terror, confirms the force of creative expression."

A Renowned Path of Apocalyptic Writing

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, somber works, which have won many prizes, such as the 2019 National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his works, notably his novels Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into cinematic works.

Initial Success

Born in Gyula, Hungary in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first made his mark with his 1985 debut novel Satantango, a dark and captivating portrayal of a disintegrating rural community.

The work would later win the Man Booker International Prize recognition in the English language many years later, in 2013.

A Distinctive Prose Technique

Frequently labeled as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is famous for his extended, meandering sentences (the 12 chapters of the book each comprise a one paragraph), bleak and somber themes, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led reviewers to liken him to Kafka, Melville, and Gogol.

Satantango was famously transformed into a extended motion picture by filmmaker the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a long working relationship.

"He is a significant writer of epic tales in the Central European tradition that includes Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is marked by absurdism and grotesque excess," stated the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … smooth language with lengthy, intricate sentences lacking full stops that has become his signature."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has called the author as "the contemporary from Hungary expert of apocalypse," while Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his outlook.

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

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been influenced by journeys as much as by language. He first departed from the communist his homeland in 1987, residing a year in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later found inspiration from east Asia – particularly China and Mongolia – for books such as a specific work, and his book on China.

While developing War and War, he travelled widely across the continent and lived for a time in Ginsberg's New York home, noting the renowned Beat poet's support as essential to finalizing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would explain his oeuvre in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these words, some short sentences; then more sentences that are more extended, and in the chief very long phrases, for the span of 35 years. Beauty in language. Enjoyment in hell."

On audiences discovering his books for the first time, he continued: "For any readers who have not yet read my novels, I would not suggest a particular book to peruse to them; rather, I’d recommend them to venture outside, rest at a location, maybe by the side of a brook, with nothing to do, a clear mind, just staying in quiet like boulders. They will sooner or later meet an individual who has previously read my novels."

Literature Prize History

Prior to the declaration, oddsmakers had pegged the top contenders for this annual prize as the Chinese writer, an avant garde Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Writing has been presented on 117 prior instances since the early 20th century. Current laureates are Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, the Austrian and Tokarczuk. Last year’s winner was Han Kang, the South Korean author most famous for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally accept the medal and certificate in a event in winter in Stockholm.

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