László Krasznahorkai wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025 has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, the Swedish Academy announced. The 71-year-old was recognised for his "compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art."

Krasznahorkai expressed his profound gratitude, stating, "I am deeply glad that I have received the Nobel prize – above all because this award proves that literature exists in itself, beyond various non-literary expectations, and that it is still being read. And for those who read it, it offers a certain hope that beauty, nobility, and the sublime still exist for their own sake. It may offer hope even to those in whom life itself only barely flickers."

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dystopian and melancholic novels, which are often characterised by an unrelenting intensity and famously long, complex sentences—sometimes spanning an entire chapter. The author, who was born in Gyula, Hungary, in 1954, first garnered widespread attention with his debut novel, Satantango, published in 1985. His portrayal of a disintegrating rural community later secured the Man Booker International Prize in 2015 and was adapted into an acclaimed, seven-hour film by director Bela Tarr, marking a long-standing collaboration.

His body of work, which has earned him numerous accolades, including the 2019 National Book Award for Translated Literature, also features the novel Seiobo There Below. This collection of 17 stories, structured in a Fibonacci sequence, explores the artistic creation set against a backdrop of global blindness and impermanence.

His award-winning novel, Herscht 07769, has been lauded as a "great contemporary German novel" for its accurate portrayal of a small Thuringian town grappling with social chaos, violence, and arson. Set against the backdrop of Johann Sebastian Bach's cultural legacy, the novel delves into the coexistence of terror and beauty in human experience. Written in Krasznahorkai’s distinctive, uninterrupted prose, Herscht 07769 captures "violence and beauty impossibly conjoined," according to the Nobel citation. The narrative follows a group of impoverished residents awaiting salvation from two enigmatic men believed to have returned from the dead.

Krasznahorkai’s career has also been shaped by extensive travel, starting with his departure from communist Hungary in 1987. His journeys through East Asia, including Mongolia and China, inspired works like The Prisoner of Urga. He also spent a formative period in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment while completing his novel War and War.

The award, which includes a cash prize of 11-million Swedish kronor, will be formally presented to Krasznahorkai on 10 December in Stockholm.