KEY POINTS
- Swedish Academy praises his “compelling and visionary oeuvre”
- Described as a great epic writer in the Central European tradition
- Works explore apocalypse, solitude, and the power of art
- Becomes Hungary’s first literature laureate since 2002
STOCKHOLM: The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature to Hungarian novelist Laszló Krasznahorkai, for his visionary lifelong literary work that asserted the enduring resonance of creativity.
According to the official announcement on nobelprize.org, the Academy’s award committee awarded the prestigious prize to the Hungarian novelist “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.
The Academy described Krasznahorkai as “a great epic writer in the Central European tradition,” noting that his prose “extends from Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, combining absurdist darkness with spiritual intensity.”
At 71, Krasznahorkai becomes the second Hungarian writer to receive the literature Nobel, following Imre Kertész, who won in 2002. The Nobel committee highlighted how his fiction “constructs a world both crumbling and infinite, where human beings persist in seeking meaning despite collapse.”
International media, including Reuters and The Guardian, reported that the Academy emphasised his unique sentence structure and hypnotic rhythm — characterised by lengthy, meandering passages that mirror the disintegration and hope within post-Communist Europe.
Krasznahorkai first gained global recognition with his 1985 debut novel Sátántangó, which was later adapted into a celebrated seven-hour film by Hungarian director Béla Tarr.
Other acclaimed works include The Melancholy of Resistance, War and War, and Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming, each exploring moral decay and spiritual endurance.
The Academy’s biography, also available on the Nobel Prize website, notes that Krasznahorkai’s later writing draws on his extraordinary travels across East Asia, blending philosophical depth with Buddhist and Taoist influences, reflecting a shift that broadened his narrative style while maintaining his apocalyptic vision.
The Nobel Prize in Literature also carries, a monetary award of 11 million Swedish kronor (about US $1.1 million), along with a gold medal and diploma. The award will be formally presented in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
