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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the committee.

The Jury praised the author's "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of cataclysmic terror, reaffirms the force of art."

A Renowned Path of Bleak Narratives

Krasznahorkai is known for his dark, pensive books, which have garnered numerous accolades, including the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, including his titles Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into feature films.

Early Beginnings

Hailing in the Hungarian town of Gyula in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a bleak and captivating depiction of a failing countryside settlement.

The work would go on to earn the Man Booker International Prize award in translation decades after, in the 2010s.

A Distinctive Literary Style

Frequently labeled as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering prose (the 12 chapters of the book each comprise a single paragraph), apocalyptic and somber motifs, and the kind of relentless power that has led literary experts to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

Satantango was notably adapted into a lengthy film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring creative partnership.

"The author is a great author of grand narratives in the Central European heritage that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is marked by the absurd and grotesque excess," commented the committee chair, chair of the Nobel committee.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "developed towards … flowing syntax with lengthy, intricate phrases devoid of periods that has become his hallmark."

Literary Praise

Susan Sontag has called the author as "today's from Hungary genius of end-times," while Sebald praised the broad relevance of his vision.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s books have been translated into English. The critic James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like valuable artifacts."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by exploration as much as by literature. He first exited socialist the country in the late 80s, spending a year in West Berlin for a grant, and later found inspiration from east Asia – notably Mongolia and China – for novels such as a specific work, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While working on War and War, he journeyed extensively across Europe and stayed in Allen Ginsberg’s New York residence, describing the renowned poet's assistance as vital to completing the book.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would characterize his oeuvre in an discussion, Krasznahorkai answered: "Letters; then from these characters, words; then from these terms, some short sentences; then more sentences that are lengthier, and in the main exceptionally extended paragraphs, for the span of decades. Beauty in language. Enjoyment in darkness."

On audiences finding his work for the first time, he continued: "For any readers who are new to my books, I couldn’t recommend any specific title to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d recommend them to go out, rest in a place, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no tasks, nothing to think about, just being in tranquility like rocks. They will in time encounter someone who has already read my novels."

Award Background

Ahead of the reveal, oddsmakers had pegged the top contenders for this year’s award as an avant-garde author, an experimental Chinese writer, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded on over a hundred prior instances since 1901. Latest winners have included Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, the Austrian and Olga Tokarczuk. The previous year's honoree was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally be presented with the award and certificate in a ceremony in winter in Stockholm, Sweden.

Additional details forthcoming