The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” the Swedish Academy announced on Thursday.

Born in 1954 in the small southeastern Hungarian town of Gyula, near the Romanian border, Krasznahorkai gained early acclaim with his debut novel Sátántangó (1985; Satantango, 2012), a haunting portrayal of desolation and moral decay in a remote village. The novel was a literary sensation in Hungary and established him as a major voice in contemporary European literature.

Regarded as a great epic writer in the Central European tradition, Krasznahorkai’s work carries echoes of Franz Kafka and Thomas Bernhard, blending absurdism, grotesque imagery, and philosophical intensity. His prose, known for its long, flowing sentences and existential depth, explores the tension between chaos and creation.

One of his most acclaimed works, Herscht 07769, has been described as a major contemporary German novel for its piercing depiction of social unrest. Set in a small town in Thüringen, Germany, the story delves into social anarchy, murder, and arson — all unfolding against the spiritual backdrop of Johann Sebastian Bach’s legacy. Written in a single, relentless flow, the novel captures the uneasy coexistence of violence and beauty.

Krasznahorkai’s literary journey has also drawn inspiration from the East, reflecting his travels through China and Japan. His 2003 novel Északról hegy, Délről tó, Nyugatról utak, Keletről folyó (A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East, 2022) is a meditative and poetic tale set near Kyoto, exploring the search for a “secret garden” of meaning and beauty.

This work paved the way for his celebrated collection Seiobo járt odalent (2008; Seiobo There Below, 2013), a series of seventeen stories arranged in a Fibonacci sequence — an artistic meditation on beauty, art, and the act of creation in an impermanent world.

Together, these works form a monumental body of writing that affirms Krasznahorkai’s mastery as a modern visionary, exploring both the despair and the transcendence that define the human condition.