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The prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature for this year has been bestowed upon Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, as declared by the committee.

The Committee highlighted the 71-year-old's "compelling and visionary collection that, amidst end-times fear, confirms the strength of the arts."

An Esteemed Career of Dystopian Narratives

Krasznahorkai is celebrated for his dark, melancholic novels, which have earned many accolades, such as the recent National Book Award for international writing and the 2015 Man Booker International Prize.

Many of his novels, among them his novels Satantango and another major work, have been adapted into movies.

Initial Success

Born in a Hungarian locale in 1954, Krasznahorkai first gained recognition with his mid-80s initial work Satantango, a dark and hypnotic depiction of a failing rural community.

The book would later win the Man Booker International Prize award in the English language decades after, in 2013.

An Unconventional Writing Approach

Commonly referred to as postmodern, Krasznahorkai is renowned for his extended, meandering sentences (the dozen sections of his novel each are a one paragraph), dystopian and somber themes, and the kind of unwavering intensity that has led literary experts to compare him to literary giants like Kafka.

This work was notably transformed into a seven-hour film by cinematic artist the director Béla Tarr, with whom Krasznahorkai has had a enduring artistic collaboration.

"Krasznahorkai is a remarkable epic writer in the Central European literary tradition that traces back to Franz Kafka to Bernhard, and is marked by absurdist elements and grotesque excess," stated Anders Olsson, leader of the Nobel jury.

He characterized Krasznahorkai’s writing as having "evolved into … continuous syntax with extended, meandering phrases lacking full stops that has become his signature."

Expert Opinions

Sontag has referred to the author as "the contemporary from Hungary genius of the apocalyptic," while the writer W.G. Sebald applauded the wide appeal of his vision.

Only a few of Krasznahorkai’s books have been published in English. The literary critic Wood once wrote that his books "circulate like rare currency."

Worldwide Travels

Krasznahorkai’s literary path has been molded by journeys as much as by his writing. He first left the communist Hungary in 1987, residing a twelve months in Berlin for a grant, and later was inspired from east Asia – especially China and Mongolia – for books such as The Prisoner of Urga, and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.

While developing this novel, he explored across European nations and resided temporarily in Allen Ginsberg’s New York home, describing the famous poet's support as essential to finishing the work.

Krasznahorkai on His Work

Inquired how he would describe his work in an conversation, Krasznahorkai responded: "Characters; then from letters, vocabulary; then from these terms, some concise lines; then additional phrases that are longer, and in the primary very long phrases, for the span of three and a half decades. Beauty in language. Fun in despair."

On readers encountering his writing for the first time, he noted: "Should there be individuals who haven’t read my works, I would not suggest a particular book to peruse to them; on the contrary, I’d suggest them to venture outside, sit down at a location, possibly by the banks of a creek, with no obligations, nothing to think about, just being in quiet like stones. They will eventually come across a person who has previously read my books."

Nobel Prize Context

Before the announcement, bookmakers had listed the top contenders for this year’s prize as Can Xue, an avant garde Chinese novelist, and Krasznahorkai himself.

The Nobel Prize in Literary Arts has been awarded on 117 previous occasions since 1901. Recent winners have included the French author, Dylan, Abdulrazak Gurnah, Louise Glück, Peter Handke and the Polish author. The previous year's winner was the South Korean writer, the from South Korea author most famous for her acclaimed novel.

Krasznahorkai will formally receive the medal and document in a ceremony in winter in Stockholm.

Additional details forthcoming