The Nobel Prize in Literature 2025
October 9, 2025
The Swedish Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, has announced that
The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2025
is awarded to the 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 cited the following in awarding Krasznahorkai the 2025 Prize:
- They honored him “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”
- The Academy praised his “artistic gaze, which is entirely free of illusion, and which sees through the fragility of the social order,” while also observing his “unwavering belief in the power of art.”
- They situated him within a Central European literary tradition that includes Kafka and Thomas Bernhard, noting how he fuses that with a more contemplative, Eastern-influenced tone.
- His style—often long, flowing sentences shifting in tone, abrupt transitions, and an intensity of vision—has been singled out as distinctive and potent.
- The prize recognizes not just individual works but his whole body of work (as is typical for the Nobel in literature).
- His novels explore the tension between order and chaos, often set in bleak, post-communist landscapes.
- Works like Satantango depict haunting scenes of societal collapse and existential despair, yet they elevate literature as a force of resilience and reflection.
- His writing is marked by poetic intensity, philosophical insight, and a unique narrative style that challenges conventional storytelling.
- Several of his books have been adapted into acclaimed films by Hungarian director Béla Tarr, including the seven-hour cinematic masterpiece Satantango.
- He has previously won the Man Booker International Prize and the National Book Award for Translated Literature.
Sources: The Swedish Academy; Agencies.
CitiTimes 