STOCKHOLM — The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. The Nobel Committee recognized his “powerful and philosophical literary work that affirms the power of art amidst apocalyptic terror.”
Born in Hungary in 1954, Krasznahorkai’s writings are celebrated for their dark and melancholic portrayals of the human psyche. He is considered a major figure among the proponents of literary modernism.
His distinctive style is characterized by long, cinematic sentences and complex structures, often compared to visual scenes in cinema. Among his acclaimed works is the novel Satantango, which earned him the Man Booker International Prize in 2015. His work, The World Goes On, was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018. Other notable titles include The Turin Horse, A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, and The Melancholy of Resistance. He published his first novel in 1985.
The announcement concludes the literature segment of the Nobel season. South Korean author Han Kang was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2024. The prizes for Medicine, Physics, and Chemistry were announced earlier this week, on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, respectively.
