Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, whose philosophical, bleakly funny novels often unfold in single sentences, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.
The Nobel judges praised his “artistic gaze which is entirely free of illusion, and which sees through the fragility of the social order combined with his unwavering belief in the power of art,” Steve Sem-Sandberg of the Nobel committee said at the announcement.
“László Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through [Franz] Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess,” the Nobel judges said.
Several works, including his debut, Satantango, and The Melancholy of Resistance were turned into films by Hungarian director Béla Tarr.
Mr. Krasznahorkai, 71, could not immediately be reached for his reaction. He did not speak at the announcement.
He was born in the southeastern Hungarian city of Gyula, near the border with Romania.
Political critic
Throughout the 1970s, he studied law at universities in Szeged and Budapest before shifting his focus to literature.
Mr. Krasznahorkai has been a vocal critic of autocratic Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, especially his government’s lack of support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
But in a post on Facebook, Mr. Orbán was quick to congratulate the writer, saying: “The pride of Hungary, the first Nobel Prize winner from Gyula, László Krasznahorkai. Congratulations!”
In an interview with Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet earlier this year, Mr. Krasznahorkai expressed criticism both of Mr. Orbán’s political system and the nationalism present in Hungarian society. “There is no hope left in Hungary today and it is not only because of the Orbán regime,” he told the paper. “The problem is not only political, but also social.” He also reflected on the fact that he has long been a contender for the Nobel Prize in literature, saying: “I don’t want to lie. It would be very interesting to get that prize. But I would be very surprised if I got it.”
The Booker judges praised his “extraordinary sentences, sentences of incredible length that go to incredible lengths, their tone switching from solemn to madcap to quizzicSal to desolate as they go their wayward way.”
He also won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in the U.S. in 2019 for Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming.
