Nobel Prize in Literature 2025

Nobel Prize in Literature 2025: László Krasznahorkai – Hungarian Master of Apocalyptic Vision

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to László Krasznahorkai, the Hungarian novelist and screenwriter, for his “compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”. The announcement was made by the Swedish Academy on October 9, 2025, marking Krasznahorkai as the second Hungarian to receive this prestigious literary honor after Imre Kertész in 2002.​

The Winner: László Krasznahorkai

Literary Style and Themes

Krasznahorkai’s distinctive literary style is characterized by extraordinarily long sentences that often extend across multiple pages, with entire chapters consisting of single, unbroken paragraphs. His prose creates a hypnotic, breathless effect that draws readers into what critics describe as “apocalyptic terror” while simultaneously celebrating the redemptive power of art.​

The American critic Susan Sontag crowned Krasznahorkai as contemporary literature’s “master of the apocalypse”, a designation that captures his unique ability to find beauty within devastation and transcendence within decay. His work explores themes of moral collapse, institutional rot, spiritual drift, and how individuals confront history in a world where society dissolves and memory falters.​

Major Works and Literary Contributions

Sátántangó (Satantango, 1985)

Krasznahorkai’s debut novel remains his most celebrated work. Set in a remote rural area of Hungary, this postmodernist masterpiece tells the story of the remaining inhabitants of an isolated hamlet during endless days of rain. The novel’s structure mirrors a tango, with six “steps” forward followed by six backward, and became a literary sensation in Hungary, predicting the downfall of the communist regime four years before it occurred.​

The novel was adapted into a seven-hour film by Béla Tarr in 1994, which brought international attention to Krasznahorkai’s work. The English translation by George Szirtes won the Best Translated Book Award in 2013.​

The Melancholy of Resistance (Az ellenállás melankóliája, 1989)

This novel, set in a small Hungarian town, depicts the arrival of a ghostly circus featuring the carcass of a giant whale, which unleashes apocalyptic forces and social breakdown. The work masterfully portrays the brutal struggle between order and disorder through dreamlike scenes and grotesque characterizations.​

War and War (Háború és háború, 1999)

This novel follows a Hungarian archivist named Korin who discovers what he believes to be an exceptionally beautiful ancient epic about returning warriors. Determined to preserve this manuscript for eternity, he travels from Budapest to New York to post it on the internet before ending his life. The work showcases Krasznahorkai’s development toward his signature flowing syntax with long, winding sentences.​

Seiobo There Below (Seiobo járt odalent, 2008)

A collection of seventeen stories arranged in a Fibonacci sequence, this work explores the role of beauty and artistic creation in a world of blindness and impermanence. It reflects Krasznahorkai’s deep engagement with Asian culture, particularly his travels to China and Japan.​

Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming (Báró Wenckheim hazatér, 2016)

This novel won the National Book Award for Translated Literature and tells the story of a ruined baron returning to Hungary from exile in Argentina, hoping to reunite with his childhood sweetheart.​

Herscht 07769 (2021)

Written in a single 400-page sentence with only one full stop, this novel addresses the resurgence of fascism in Europe through the story of a graffiti remover in Germany. It has been described as a great contemporary German novel for its accurate portrayal of social unrest.​

Writers in Contention for the 2025 Nobel Prize

According to bookmakers and literary critics, several prominent authors were considered frontrunners for the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature:​

Top Contenders:

• Gerald Murnane (Australia) – Led betting odds at 5/1, known for his meditative, metafictional landscapes​

• László Krasznahorkai (Hungary) – Second favorite at 6/1, ultimately the winner​

• Cristina Rivera Garza (Mexico) – At 9/1 odds, representing underrepresented Spanish-language literature​

• Haruki Murakami (Japan) – Perennial favorite at 11/1 odds​

• Mircea Cărtărescu (Romania) – Also at 11/1, celebrated for postmodern fiction​

• Thomas Pynchon (USA) – Long-standing favorite at 11/1 odds​

Other Notable Mentions:

• Can Xue (China) – Previous frontrunner who dropped to 14/1 odds​

• Amitav Ghosh (India) – Rose in betting odds just before announcement​

• Enrique Vila-Matas (Spain) – At 14/1 odds​

• Anne Carson (Canada) – Poet at 12/1 odds​

• Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua-American) – At 17/1 odds​

• Salman Rushdie (British-American) – At 17/1 odds​

Last Five Years of Nobel Literature Winners and Their Contributions

2024: Han Kang (South Korea)

Han Kang became the first South Korean and first Asian woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. She was recognized “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life”. Her breakthrough came with the 2007 novel The Vegetarian, which won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. Other notable works include Human Acts, which explores the 1980 Gwangju massacre, and The White Book.​

2023: Jon Fosse (Norway)

The Norwegian playwright and author was awarded the prize “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”. Fosse has had over 1,000 productions of his plays staged in more than 50 languages and is also recognized for his novels, poetry, and children’s books. His notable work includes “A New Name: Septology VI-VII”.​

2022: Annie Ernaux (France)

French author Annie Ernaux received the prize “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”. She is particularly known for her autobiographical works that blend personal and collective memory, exploring themes of class, gender, and social transformation.​

2021: Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania/United Kingdom)

Born in Zanzibar, Gurnah was recognized “for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”. His works explore the experiences of refugees and the impact of colonialism, drawing from his own experience as someone who left Zanzibar for England as a young man.​

2020: Louise Glück (United States)

The American poet and essayist won the prize “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”. Glück had already won major awards in the US, including the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. Her notable works include The Triumph of Achilles (1985) and The Wild Iris (1992).​

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature’s recognition of László Krasznahorkai continues the tradition of honoring authors who push the boundaries of literary expression while addressing universal human experiences. His selection reflects the Swedish Academy’s appreciation for writers who, in the face of societal breakdown and existential crisis, reaffirm literature’s power to illuminate the human condition and preserve the essence of art itself.

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