(MENAFN) Hungarian writer Laszlo Krasznahorkai has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Born in 1954 in the southeastern Hungarian town of Gyula, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his debut novel Satantango in 1985. The story, set in a rural environment reminiscent of his hometown, quickly became a literary phenomenon in Hungary.

His notable works include Herscht 07769, regarded as a major contemporary novel for its stark depiction of social upheaval in a small Thuringian town in Germany, framed against the legacy of composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

Krasznahorkai has also drawn inspiration from East Asian culture, creating lyrical works such as A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East (2003) and the acclaimed Seiobo There Below (2008).

Last year, the literature prize was awarded to South Korean author Han Kang for “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”

Established under the will of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901, the Nobel Prizes are among the world’s most prestigious honors. They are presented annually in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, with an economics prize added in 1969 by Sweden’s central bank.

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