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The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been granted to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the Swedish Academy.

The Academy highlighted the author's "gripping and imaginative body of work that, amidst end-times fear, reasserts the force of art."

An Esteemed Career of Bleak Narratives

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

Several of his books, notably his novels Satantango and another major work, have been made into cinematic works.

Debut Novel

Born in Gyula, Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai first made his mark with his 1985 first book Satantango, a grim and captivating depiction of a failing rural community.

The work would go on to earn the Man Booker International Prize honor in English decades after, in 2013.

An Unconventional Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering prose (the twelve chapters of Satantango each comprise a solitary block of text), apocalyptic and pensive motifs, and the kind of persistent intensity that has led critics to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

The novel was notably adapted into a seven-hour motion picture by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a lengthy artistic collaboration.

"He is a great author of grand narratives in the Central European literary tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdist elements and grotesque excess," stated Anders Olsson, leader of the Nobel jury.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s style as having "developed towards … flowing syntax with long, winding phrases without punctuation that has become his signature."

Expert Opinions

The critic Susan Sontag has called the author as "the contemporary from Hungary expert of end-times," while the writer W.G. Sebald applauded the universality of his outlook.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been translated into the English language. The literary critic James Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like rare currency."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been influenced by travel as much as by literature. He first departed from the communist Hungary in 1987, spending a year in the city for a fellowship, and later found inspiration from Asia – notably Asian nations – for novels such as a specific work, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While working on War and War, he explored across Europe and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York home, noting the famous writer's support as crucial to finishing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Questioned how he would characterize his writing in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Letters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some short sentences; then additional phrases that are more extended, and in the chief exceptionally extended phrases, for the period of 35 years. Beauty in prose. Fun in despair."

On readers encountering his books for the initial encounter, he continued: "For any individuals who have not yet read my novels, I couldn’t recommend anything to explore to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to go out, settle in a place, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no obligations, no thoughts, just being in silence like boulders. They will sooner or later encounter an individual who has encountered my works."

Award Background

Prior to the declaration, betting agencies had pegged the top contenders for this annual prize as the Chinese writer, an innovative from China writer, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Literature has been presented on one hundred seventeen past events since 1901. Recent recipients are Ernaux, the musician, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Peter Handke and Tokarczuk. Last year’s recipient was the South Korean writer, the from South Korea author renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the prize medal and document in a event in winter in Stockholm.

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