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

The Academy praised the author's "gripping and imaginative body of work that, in the midst of cataclysmic fear, reaffirms the force of the arts."

An Esteemed Career of Bleak Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dark, pensive books, which have won several awards, for instance the 2019 National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his works, including his titles his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been turned into cinematic works.

Initial Success

Born in the Hungarian town of Gyula in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s first book his seminal novel, a bleak and captivating portrayal of a disintegrating rural community.

The novel would later secure the Man Booker International Prize award in translation decades after, in 2013.

A Distinctive Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as avant-garde, Krasznahorkai is known for his lengthy, intricate prose (the 12 chapters of the book each consist of a single paragraph), dystopian and pensive themes, and the kind of unwavering force that has led reviewers to draw parallels with Gogol, Melville and Kafka.

This work was famously transformed into a lengthy movie by director the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"The author is a significant writer of epic tales in the Central European tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by absurdism and grotesque excess," stated the committee chair, head of the Nobel jury.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … flowing structure with extended, meandering phrases without periods that has become his signature."

Literary Praise

Sontag has referred to the author as "the contemporary Hungarian genius of the apocalyptic," while the writer W.G. Sebald applauded the broad relevance of his outlook.

Just a small number of Krasznahorkai’s works have been rendered in the English language. The critic James Wood once remarked that his books "get passed around like valuable artifacts."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by exploration as much as by language. He first departed from socialist Hungary in 1987, spending a twelve months in West Berlin for a grant, and later drew inspiration from east Asia – notably Mongolia and China – for works such as one of his titles, and his book on China.

While writing War and War, he travelled widely across Europe and stayed in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment, stating the famous poet's assistance as crucial to completing the work.

Writer's Own Words

Asked how he would explain his oeuvre in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, words; then from these terms, some concise lines; then further lines that are longer, and in the chief very long paragraphs, for the span of three and a half decades. Elegance in prose. Fun in despair."

On readers discovering his books for the first time, he noted: "Should there be readers who haven’t read my novels, I would not suggest anything to peruse to them; rather, I’d advise them to step out, settle at a location, maybe by the side of a brook, with no obligations, a clear mind, just remaining in silence like rocks. They will in time meet someone who has already read my works."

Award Background

Prior to the declaration, bookmakers had listed the frontrunners for this year’s prize as an avant-garde author, an avant garde from China author, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Award in Literary Arts has been given on one hundred seventeen prior instances since 1901. Latest recipients are Annie Ernaux, Bob Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Glück, the Austrian and Olga Tokarczuk. The previous year's winner was Han Kang, the South Korean author best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will officially accept the award and certificate in a ceremony in the month of December in Stockholm, Sweden.

Updates to come