The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Hungarian novelist László Krasznahorkai, the Swedish Academy announced on Thursday at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Krasznahorkai received the prestigious award “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” Alongside the honor, the prize carries a monetary award of nearly $1.2 million.
With only a few of his works translated into English, literary critic James Wood noted that Krasznahorkai’s books “get passed around like rare currency.” The Nobel Committee said the award recognized a body of work “characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess” that has earned widespread acclaim.
Who is László Krasznahorkai?
Born in Gyula, Hungary, in 1954, Krasznahorkai grew up “in a predicament and a country where a person accursed with a heightened aesthetic and moral sensitivity like me simply cannot survive.”
Krasznahorkai’s fiction is known for its dense, philosophical prose and often explores humanity in chaotic, godless worlds. His debut, Sátántangó (1985; Satantango, 2012), set in an abandoned Hungarian collective farm, introduced readers to his signature blend of darkness and absurdism. The late Susan Sontag called him the “contemporary master of the apocalypse.”
Other notable works include:
- Az ellenállás melankóliája (1989; The Melancholy of Resistance, 1998) – depicting social chaos in a small Carpathian town.
- Háború és háború (1999; War & War, 2006) – following an archivist from Budapest to New York on a quest to revive an ancient epic.
- Báró Wenckheim hazatér (2016; Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming, 2019) – exploring exile, love, and treachery with epic and comic undertones.
- Herscht 07769 (2021; Herscht 07769: A Novel, 2024) – set in Germany amidst social unrest, framed by the shadow of Bach.
- Északról hegy, Délről tó… (2003; A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, 2022) and Seiobo járt odalent (2008; Seiobo There Below, 2013) – inspired by travels in China and Japan, exploring creation and impermanence.
- Aprómunka egy palotáért (2018; Spadework for a Palace, 2020) – set in Manhattan, examining ambition, imitation, and madness.
Krasznahorkai’s novels often depict isolated landscapes, moral ambiguity, and human extremities, blending grotesque absurdism with lyrical beauty. Many of his works, including Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into films.
The Nobel Prize in Literature, considered the highest honor in literature, has previously recognized authors like Saul Bellow, Toni Morrison, Harold Pinter, and Bob Dylan (2016). Recent laureates include Han Kang, Abdulrazak Gurnah, and Annie Ernaux. Before the announcement, bookmakers had favored Krasznahorkai and Can Xue, with commentators also mentioning Swiss novelist Christian Kracht.
Krasznahorkai’s Nobel win celebrates a career that spans Europe to the East, exploring apocalypse, artistry, and the transcendent power of literature.
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