The Swedish Academy has awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature to Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, announcing its decision on Thursday in Stockholm.
The author received the prize for his visionary oeuvre, which, according to the Academy, affirms the power of art in the midst of apocalyptic terror. Secretary of the Swedish Academy Mats Malm said he had reached Krasznahorkai—who was in Frankfurt at the time—by telephone prior to the public announcement.
‘László Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition, stretching from Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, characterized by absurdism and grotesque exaggeration. But there is more to him than that: Eastern influences are also evident in his works, which often bear a more contemplative, finely tuned tone,’ the Academy noted in its statement.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán congratulated Krasznahorkai in a post on his social media, calling him a ‘pride of Hungary’. State Secretary Zoltán Kovács, in his congratulatory post, highlighted that Krasznahorkai is the second Hungarian author to receive the prize, following Imre Kertész in 2002. ‘A historic day for Hungarian literature,’ he emphasized.
The 71-year-old Hungarian writer will receive 11 million Swedish kronor (approximately $1.3 million) along with the prize. The award will be formally presented on 10 December, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, who founded the prize.
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