Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Novosibirsk State University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Yesterday, the Nobel Committee announced the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature: Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. The committee's reasoning states that Krasznahorkai was awarded the prize "for his compelling and visionary work, which, amid apocalyptic horror, reaffirms the power of art."
Lyudmila Budneva, senior lecturer at the NSU Humanities Institute, commented:
The Nobel Committee is often criticized for awarding prizes to authors well known to the Committee itself, which means the range of national literatures represented by the winners is quite limited. However, the name of the 2025 laureate, Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, should not raise any eyebrows among literary scholars or readers.
The 71-year-old writer is well known not only in his homeland but also abroad; in 2015, he won the Man Booker International Prize. His best-known works are the novels Satan Tango and The Melancholy of Resistance. Unfortunately, Krasznahorkai is little known to Russian readers: several translations of his short stories have appeared in literary journals, and the two novels I mentioned have also been published. His novel The Return of Baron Wenckheim is scheduled for publication next year.
The Hungarian writer himself admitted that L.N. Tolstoy and F.M. Dostoevsky had a decisive influence on both his personality and his work: “If it weren’t for Russian literature, I would never have started writing.”
I see the influence of Russian classics both in the consciousness of the hero, who seeks his place in the existential emptiness of a world hurtling toward the depths of hell, and in the writer's own language, which often leaves out periods. Krasznahorkai strives to convey the hero's thoughts, to hear the polyphony and rhythm of thoughts, sometimes confused, yet struggling in search.
Krasznahorkai compares art to the work of a scientist struggling with a problem and "suddenly having an epiphany," because it's impossible to logically explain how a book is written or how it affects the reader. The books of the 2025 Nobel Prize laureate in literature not only open new worlds but also, through emotional tension, help readers understand themselves.
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