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The world-renowned Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Nobel awarding body.

The Jury highlighted the seventy-one-year-old's "gripping and imaginative body of work that, amidst apocalyptic fear, reaffirms the power of art."

A Legacy of Dystopian Writing

Krasznahorkai is known for his dark, somber novels, which have earned many accolades, such as the recent National Book Award for translated literature and the prestigious Man Booker International Prize.

A number of of his works, notably his fictional works Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been made into cinematic works.

Early Beginnings

Originating in the Hungarian town of Gyula in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his 1985 first book Satantango, a bleak and captivating portrayal of a collapsing countryside settlement.

The work would go on to win the Man Booker International Prize award in the English language nearly three decades later, in 2013.

An Unconventional Literary Style

Frequently labeled as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering prose (the dozen sections of Satantango each are a solitary block of text), dystopian and somber motifs, and the kind of relentless power that has led critics to draw parallels with literary giants like Kafka.

The novel was widely transformed into a seven-hour film by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring working relationship.

"The author is a significant author of grand narratives in the European tradition that includes Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by absurdist elements and grotesque exaggeration," stated Anders Olsson, head of the Nobel jury.

He described Krasznahorkai’s style as having "progressed to … smooth language with lengthy, intricate phrases devoid of periods that has become his hallmark."

Literary Praise

The critic Susan Sontag has described the author as "the contemporary from Hungary expert of end-times," while Sebald praised the wide appeal of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s works have been translated into English. The reviewer Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like valuable artifacts."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s career has been shaped by journeys as much as by language. He first departed from the communist his homeland in 1987, staying a year in West Berlin for a scholarship, and later drew inspiration from east Asia – especially China and Mongolia – for works such as a specific work, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing this novel, he explored across Europe and resided temporarily in Ginsberg's New York apartment, noting the renowned writer's backing as crucial to finalizing the book.

Author's Perspective

Questioned how he would explain his writing in an interview, Krasznahorkai said: "Letters; then from letters, words; then from these words, some brief phrases; then additional phrases that are longer, and in the main extremely lengthy phrases, for the period of decades. Elegance in prose. Enjoyment in despair."

On audiences finding his books for the first time, he continued: "If there are individuals who are new to my novels, I would not suggest anything to peruse to them; rather, I’d advise them to go out, settle at a location, possibly by the side of a brook, with nothing to do, no thoughts, just being in tranquility like stones. They will sooner or later come across an individual who has encountered my novels."

Nobel Prize Context

Before the announcement, betting agencies had listed the frontrunners for this year’s honor as the Chinese writer, an innovative Chinese writer, and the Hungarian.

The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been awarded on one hundred seventeen prior instances since 1901. Current winners are Annie Ernaux, the musician, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, Handke and Olga Tokarczuk. Last year’s honoree was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially receive the award and certificate in a event in the month of December in the Swedish capital.

Additional details forthcoming