The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to Hungarian novelist and screenwriter László Krasznahorkai, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced. The award recognizes his “captivating and visionary literary works that reaffirm the power of art amid apocalyptic dread,” according to the Academy’s statement.
Krasznahorkai, known for his dense and philosophical prose, often explores dystopian and melancholic themes in his novels. Many of his works, including Satantango (1985) and The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), were adapted into films by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr.
Born on January 5, 1954, in Gyula, Hungary, Krasznahorkai studied Latin, law, and later Hungarian language and literature at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. His debut novel Satantango (1985) brought him widespread acclaim, establishing him among Hungary’s leading writers. His major works include Satantango, The Melancholy of Resistance, The Prisoner of Urga (1992), War and War (1999), and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens (2004).
