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The coveted Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been awarded to the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as announced by the Swedish Academy.

The Committee highlighted the 71-year-old's "compelling and visionary collection that, within end-times fear, reasserts the force of creative expression."

A Renowned Path of Dystopian Fiction

Krasznahorkai is known for his dark, melancholic books, which have garnered several awards, such as the recent National Book Award for translated literature and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his works, including his novels his debut and The Melancholy of Resistance, have been adapted into cinematic works.

Early Beginnings

Hailing in a Hungarian locale in the mid-1950s, Krasznahorkai first rose to prominence with his 1985 debut novel Satantango, a bleak and captivating portrayal of a disintegrating rural community.

The work would later win the Man Booker International Prize award in English nearly three decades later, in 2013.

A Distinctive Writing Approach

Frequently labeled as postmodernist, Krasznahorkai is famous for his extended, meandering sentences (the dozen sections of Satantango each consist of a single paragraph), dystopian and somber motifs, and the kind of relentless power that has led reviewers to draw parallels with literary giants like Kafka.

Satantango was widely made into a seven-hour motion picture by filmmaker Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a lengthy creative partnership.

"The author is a great epic writer in the Central European heritage that extends through Kafka to the Austrian writer, and is defined by absurdist elements and grotesque excess," commented the Nobel chair, leader of the Nobel jury.

He portrayed Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "progressed to … continuous language with lengthy, intricate phrases lacking periods that has become his hallmark."

Critical Acclaim

Susan Sontag has called the author as "today's from Hungary master of the apocalyptic," while Sebald applauded the broad relevance of his outlook.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s novels have been published in the English language. The critic James Wood once noted that his books "circulate like valuable artifacts."

International Inspiration

Krasznahorkai’s professional journey has been molded by exploration as much as by language. He first exited the communist the country in the late 80s, spending a twelve months in Berlin for a fellowship, and later was inspired from Eastern Asia – especially China and Mongolia – for works such as a specific work, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While working on War and War, he explored across the continent and lived for a time in the legendary poet's New York home, stating the famous poet's backing as crucial to completing the book.

Author's Perspective

Asked how he would describe his oeuvre in an conversation, Krasznahorkai answered: "Characters; then from letters, words; then from these words, some short sentences; then additional phrases that are lengthier, and in the chief extremely lengthy phrases, for the duration of three and a half decades. Beauty in language. Enjoyment in despair."

On audiences discovering his writing for the first time, he added: "If there are people who haven’t read my books, I would refrain from advising any specific title to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d advise them to step out, sit down somewhere, perhaps by the side of a brook, with no obligations, no thoughts, just remaining in silence like boulders. They will eventually meet someone who has already read my books."

Award Background

Before the announcement, betting agencies had pegged the frontrunners for this year's honor as the Chinese writer, an avant garde from China author, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Prize in Writing has been presented on one hundred seventeen prior instances since 1901. Recent laureates have included the French author, Dylan, the Tanzanian-born writer, Glück, Handke and Tokarczuk. The previous year's winner was Han Kang, the from South Korea writer best known for The Vegetarian.

Krasznahorkai will formally accept the award and document in a event in December in Stockholm, Sweden.

Updates to come