Context:
Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” according to the Swedish Academy. He is the second Hungarian to win the prize after Imre Kertész (2002).
Key Highlights
- Krasznahorkai, aged 71, is celebrated for his complex, apocalyptic prose and long, winding sentences that often span pages without full stops.
- His notable works include:
- The Melancholy of Resistance (1989, English translation 1998) — a novel told in one continuous sentence across 300+ pages.
- Satantango (1985) — his debut novel, later adapted into a film by Béla Tarr.
- Herscht 07769 (2023, English version) — features a single sentence across 400 pages, depicting a graffiti cleaner writing to Angela Merkel about the world’s destruction.
- He previously won the Man Booker International Prize (2015) for his entire body of work.
- His writing is often described as existential, intense, and visionary, exploring human despair, isolation, and metaphysical themes.
- Influenced by Franz Kafka, Krasznahorkai once said, “When I am not reading Kafka, I am thinking about Kafka.”
- Speaking to Swedish Radio, he remarked, “My life is a permanent correction,” reflecting his constant pursuit of literary perfection.