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The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been bestowed upon the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as revealed by the Swedish Academy.

The Committee commended the author's "compelling and visionary collection that, amidst end-times fear, confirms the force of creative expression."

A Legacy of Apocalyptic Fiction

Krasznahorkai is renowned for his dark, melancholic novels, which have earned numerous prizes, including the 2019 National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Several of his novels, notably his titles his debut and another major work, have been adapted into cinematic works.

Initial Success

Hailing in a Hungarian locale in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his 1985 first book his seminal novel, a grim and mesmerising representation of a disintegrating village society.

The novel would go on to earn the Man Booker International Prize recognition in the English language decades after, in 2013.

A Distinctive Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is famous for his long, winding phrases (the 12 chapters of the book each are a single paragraph), bleak and melancholic motifs, and the kind of relentless power that has led literary experts to liken him to literary giants like Kafka.

The novel was notably transformed into a seven-hour movie by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring creative partnership.

"The author is a great epic writer in the central European tradition that traces back to Kafka to Bernhard, and is marked by the absurd and bizarre extremes," said the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel committee.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s style as having "developed towards … smooth structure with extended, meandering phrases lacking punctuation that has become his trademark."

Critical Acclaim

The critic Susan Sontag has referred to the author as "the contemporary from Hungary genius of end-times," while WG Sebald praised the wide appeal of his perspective.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been rendered in English. The critic James Wood once noted that his books "get passed around like rare currency."

Global Influences

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by journeys as much as by his writing. He first left communist Hungary in 1987, spending a year in the city for a fellowship, and later drew inspiration from east Asia – notably China and Mongolia – for novels such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While writing War and War, he journeyed extensively across Europe and stayed in Allen Ginsberg’s New York apartment, stating the famous poet's support as crucial to completing the novel.

Writer's Own Words

Questioned how he would characterize his writing in an interview, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from these characters, vocabulary; then from these words, some short sentences; then more sentences that are lengthier, and in the main very long phrases, for the span of decades. Beauty in prose. Fun in hell."

On audiences discovering his work for the initial encounter, he added: "For any readers who are new to my books, I couldn’t recommend a particular book to peruse to them; instead, I’d suggest them to venture outside, rest somewhere, possibly by the edge of a stream, with no obligations, no thoughts, just being in quiet like stones. They will sooner or later meet someone who has encountered my works."

Nobel Prize Context

Ahead of the reveal, oddsmakers had pegged the top contenders for this year's award as an avant-garde author, an avant garde Chinese writer, and Krasznahorkai.

The Nobel Prize in Writing has been awarded on 117 previous occasions since 1901. Latest recipients are Ernaux, Bob Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, the poet, the Austrian and the Polish author. The previous year's winner was Han Kang, the from South Korea author renowned for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will ceremonially be presented with the prize medal and certificate in a event in the month of December in Stockholm.

Additional details forthcoming