The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the Hungarian creator László Krasznahorkai on Thursday (October 9) “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, within the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the ability of artwork.”
The Nobel Prize Committee described Krasznahorkai as a “nice epic author within the Central European custom that extends by way of Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque extra.”
Who’s László Krasznahorkai?
László Krasznahorkai was born in 1954 within the small city of Gyula in southeast Hungary, close to the Romanian border.
An identical distant rural space is the scene of Krasznahorkai’s first novel ‘Sátántangó’, printed in 1985 (‘Satantango’, 2012), which was a literary sensation in Hungary and the creator’s breakthrough work.
László Krasznahorkai’s works in English
1. The Melancholy of Resistance / translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes. – London : Quartet Books, 1998. – Translation of: Az ellenállás melankóliája
2. Conflict & Conflict / translated from the Hungarian by Georges Szirtes. – New York : New Instructions, 2006. – Translation of: Háború és háború
3. Animalinside / footage: Max Neumann ; translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. Cahiers sequence, 14. – Paris : Middle for Writers & Translators, the American College of Paris ; London : Sylph, 2010. – Translation of: ÁllatVanBent
4. Satantango / translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes. – New York : New Instructions, 2012. – Translation of: Sátántangó
4. The Invoice : For Palma Vecchio, at Venice / translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes. The artwork monographs, 2. – London : Sylph, 2013
6. Seiobo There Under / translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. – New York : New Instructions, 2013. – Translation of: Seiobo járt odalent
7. Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens : Reportage / translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. – London : Seagull Books, 2016. – Translation of: Rombolás és bánat az Ég alatt
8. The Final Wolf and Herman / translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes and John Batki. – New York : New Instructions, 2016. – Translation of: Az utolsó farkas
9. The Manhattan Mission : A Literary Diary Introduced as Twelve Probability Encounters or Coincidences / alongside a photographic essay by Ornan Rotem ; translated from the Hungarian by John Batki. – London : Sylph, 2017. – Translation of: A Manhattan-terv
10. The World Goes On / translated from the Hungarian by John Bátki, Ottilie Mulzet and George Szirtes. – New York : New Instructions, 2017. – Translation of: Megy a világ
11. Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming / translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. – New York: New Instructions, 2019. – Translation of: Báró Wenckheim hazatér
12. Spadework for a Palace : Coming into the Insanity of Others / translated from the Hungarian by John Batki. – New York : New Instructions, 2020. – Translation of: Aprómunka egy palotáért
13. Chasing Homer : Good Luck, and Nothing Else : Odysseus’s Cave / with artwork by Max Neumann ; with music by Szilveszter Miklós ; translated from the Hungarian by John Batki. – New York : New Instructions, 2021. – Translation of: Mindig Homérosznak : jó szerencse, semmi más : Odisejeva Spilja
14. A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East / translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. – New York : New Instructions, 2022. – Translation of: Északról hegy, Délről tó, Nyugatról utak, Keletről folyó
15. Herscht 07769 : A Novel / translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. – New York : New Instructions, 2024. – Translation of: Herscht 07769 : Florian Herscht Bach-regénye
