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László Krasznahorkai

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The native form of this personal name is Krasznahorkai László. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

László Krasznahorkai
Born (1954-01-05) 5 January 1954 (age 71)
Gyula, Hungary
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter
LanguageHungarian
EducationJózsef Attila University
Eötvös Loránd University
Period1985–present
GenreNovels, short stories, screenplays
Literary movementPostmodernism
Notable awardsKossuth Prize (2004)
Man Booker International Prize (2015)
Nobel Prize in Literature (2025)
Spouse
Anikó Pelyhe
​
​
(m. 1990, divorced)​

Dóra Kopcsányi
​
(m. 1997)​
Children3
Website
Official website

László Krasznahorkai (Hungarian: [ˈlaːsloː ˈkrɒsnɒɦorkɒi]; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian writer, novelist and screenwriter. Krasznahorkai is known for his difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, which explore dystopian and melancholic themes.[1] Several of his works, including his novels Satantango (1985) and The Melancholy of Resistance (1989), have been adapted into feature films by the director Béla Tarr.

In 2025, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art".[2][3]

Early life and education

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László Krasznahorkai was born into a middle-class family on 5 January 1954 in Gyula, eastern Hungary.[4][5] His father, György Krasznahorkai, was a lawyer, and his mother, Júlia Pálinkás, was a social security administrator.[6][5]

Krasznahorkai has stated in interviews he had Jewish heritage on his father's side,[7][8] explaining that his father initially concealed their Jewish roots from him, revealing it only when he was around 11 years old.[8] He has also said his maternal ancestors include Hungarian hajduks from Transylvania.[7][9] His paternal grandfather changed the family name from Korim (or Korin) to Krasznahorkai in 1931.[7][8] His older brother Géza is a former director of the Mogyoróssy János Municipal Library in Gyula.[10]

From 1968 to 1972, he attended Erkel Ferenc High School [hu] in Gyula, specializing in Latin.[11][12] During his teenage years, he performed as a pianist in various jazz and beat ensembles.[13] After completing one year of compulsory military service,[8] he began studying law in 1973 at József Attila University (now the University of Szeged),[11][14] but he suspended his studies after three weeks as he did not feel a sense of belonging to the legal profession.[13] Afterwards, he spent a period changing location every few months in an effort to avoid a second year of military duty. During this time, he took on various jobs as a stable boy, a cultural educator and a miner.[8][13] In 1976, he transferred to the Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, where he continued his legal studies until 1978.[11]

His first published work, a short story titled "Tebenned hittem" ("I Believed in You"), appeared in Mozgó Világ [hu] in 1977.[15] From 1978, he studied Hungarian and cultural education at the Faculty of Humanities of Eötvös Loránd University, graduating in 1983.[11][15] His thesis focused on the work of writer Sándor Márai following his emigration from Hungary.[11][16] During his studies, he worked at the Gondolat [hu] publishing house as a documenter from 1977 to 1982.[4][11]

Career as writer

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Since completing his studies, Krasznahorkai has worked as a freelance writer. His debut novel, Sátántangó (1985), was an immediate success that established him as a leading figure in Hungarian literature.[17] An English translation of the novel later received the Best Translated Book Award in 2013.[17]

International travel and influence

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Krasznahorkai first travelled outside Communist Hungary in 1987–1988,[17] when he spent one year in West Berlin as a fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program.[15][18] After the fall of the Eastern Bloc, he began living reclusively in various locations worldwide. His first extended trip to East Asia in 1990 profoundly influenced his work; his experiences in Mongolia and China informed the books The Prisoner of Urga and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens.[19] He later spent six months in Kyoto in 1996, 2000, and 2005, with the aesthetics and literary theory of the Far East causing significant shifts in his style and themes.[20] While writing War and War, he traveled extensively across Europe and received assistance from the American poet Allen Ginsberg, whom he credited with providing valuable advice while staying at his New York apartment.[21]

Critical recognition and collaborations

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His novel The Melancholy of Resistance (1989) received the German Bestenliste-Prize for the best literary work of the year in 1993.[17][22] In 1996, he was a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin.[19]

Beginning with Sátántangó (1994), filmmaker Béla Tarr, a close friend, adapted several of Krasznahorkai's works into films, including Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) which adapts The Melancholy of Resistance.[19] Krasznahorkai stated that their 2011 film, The Turin Horse, would be their final collaboration.[23] He has also collaborated with artist Max Neumann on illustrated works such as the novella Chasing Homer (2021), which was released with an original score by jazz musician Szilveszter Miklós.[24]

His novel Seiobo There Below won the Best Translated Book Award in 2014.[25] In 2015, he became the first Hungarian author to receive the Man Booker International Prize.[22]

Krasznahorkai's work has received significant critical acclaim. Susan Sontag described him as "the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse who inspires comparison with Gogol and Melville",[17] while W. G. Sebald wrote that "the universality of Krasznahorkai's vision rivals that of Gogol's Dead Souls and far surpasses all the lesser concerns of contemporary writing".[26]

In 2024, the Austrian National Library in Vienna acquired Krasznahorkai’s literary archive (Vorlass), which is now preserved in its Literature Archives.[27]

Views

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Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Krasznahorkai expressed strong condemnation of the Hungarian government's policy on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He described Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's framing of the conflict as an "internal Slavic affair" as morally indefensible and historically incoherent, given Hungary's own past invasions by Russia. Krasznahorkai argued that neutrality in the face of aggression amounts to complicity and likened the Orbán government's reasoning to a form of psychological denial. He characterized the regime as "a psychiatric case," motivated by a fatalistic and self-destructive logic that, in his words, accepts the death of one's own child to spare one's mother, only to result in the death of both.[28]

Personal life

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Krasznahorkai was married to his first wife, Anikó Pelyhe, from 1990 until their divorce. In 1997, he married Dóra Kopcsányi, a sinologist and graphic designer.[6] He has three daughters.[6] His daughter Ágnes is an actress who starred in the 2023 film Without Air [hu].[29]

After living for several years in Berlin, where he held the S. Fischer Guest Professorship at the Free University of Berlin for one semester, he returned to Hungary.[6][30]

Works

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Novels

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Novellas

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  • 2009: The Last Wolf (Az utolsó farkas), translated by George Szirtes (New Directions, 2016; paired with John Batki's translation of "Herman" and "The Death of a Craft" from Relations of Grace).
  • 2010: Animalinside (Állatvanbent), together with Max Neumann, collage of prose and pictures, translated by Ottilie Mulzet (New Directions, 2011; Sylph Editions, 2012).
  • 2018: Spadework for a Palace (Aprómunka egy palotaért), translated by John Batki (New Directions, 2022).
  • 2019: Chasing Homer (Mindig Homérosznak), with illustrations by Max Neumann, translated by John Batki (New Directions, 2021).

Short story collections

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  • Kegyelmi viszonyok: Halálnovellák [Relations of Grace] (in Hungarian). Budapest: Magvető. 1986. ISBN 9789631405811.
    • Includes: "The Last Boat", "The Bogdanovich Story", "Trapped Rye", "Heat", "Herman: The Game Warden", "The Death of a Craft", "In the Barber's Grasp" and "The Station Seeker".
  • 2013: The World Goes On (Megy a világ). Translations by John Batki, George Szirtes and Ottilie Mulzet (New Directions, 2017).

Individual short stories

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  • 1984: "The Bogdanovich Story" ("El Bogdanovichtól"). Trans. Eszter Molnár, in Thy Kingdom Come: 19 Short Stories by 11 Hungarian Authors (pp. 64–79).
  • 1986: "The Last Boat" ("Az utolsó hajó"). Trans. Eszter Molnár, in Thy Kingdom Come: 19 Short Stories by 11 Hungarian Authors (pp. 53–63); later by George Szirtes in Music & Literature No. 2 (2013)
  • 1998: "Isaiah Has Come" ("Megjött Ézsaiás"). Translated by George Szirtes, included in War and War.
  • 1999: "Dumb to the Deaf" ("Néma a süketnek"). Trans. Eszter Molnár, in The Hungarian Quarterly, Summer 2000 (pp. 49–55).
  • 2010: "The Bill: For Palma Vecchio, at Venice" ("Számla: Palma Vecchiónak, Velencébe"), translated by George Szirtes (Sylph Editions, 2013) and included in The World Goes On.

Essays, interviews and other works

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  • 1993: The Universal Theseus (A Théseus-általános), three fictional lectures. Translated by John Batki, included in The World Goes On.
  • 2001: Evening at Six: Some Free Exhibition-Opening Speeches (Este hat; néhány szabad megnyitás), essays.
  • 2003: Krasznahorkai: Conversations (Krasznahorkai Beszélgetések), interviews.
  • 2012: He Neither Answers Nor Questions: Twenty-five Conversations on the Same Subject (Nem kérdez, nem válaszol. Huszonöt beszélgetés ugyanarról.), interviews.
  • 2013: Music & Literature No. 2, book length special issue of the magazine with texts by Krasznahorkai and essays on his work by Béla Tarr and Max Neumann.[31]
  • 2017: The Manhattan Project, a literary diary with a photographic essay, translated by John Batki (Sylph Editions, 2017).

Screenplays for films

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Operas based on his novels

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  • Péter Eötvös, Valuska,libretto by Mari Mezei and Kinga Keszthelyi,Budapest, Eiffel Műhelyház 2023.
  • Marc-André Dalbavie, Mélancolie de la résistance, libretto by Guillaume Métayer with the help of the director David Marton, Staatsoper Berlin, June-July 2024.

Awards and honors

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Krasznahorkai has been honored with numerous literary prizes, including the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature as the second Hungarian author after Imre Kertész.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Wood, James (4 July 2011). "Madness and Civilization: The very strange fictions of László Krasznahorkai". The New Yorker. Vol. 87, no. 19. pp. 71–75.
  2. ^ a b Saunders, Emma (9 October 2025). "Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize for Literature". BBC. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  3. ^ Marshall, Alex (9 October 2025). "Laszlo Krasznahorkai Is Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c d Görömbei, András. "László Krasznahorkai". NedWeb. University of Vienna. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b Rohter, Larry (9 August 2014). "László Krasznahorkai's Novels Find a U.S. Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2019. He was born into a middle-class Jewish family (his father was a lawyer, his mother an employee of the social welfare ministry), in Gyula, a town on the border with Romanian Transylvania.
  6. ^ a b c d "Krasznahorkai, Laszlo 1954–". Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Vol. 158. 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  7. ^ a b c "Interjú Krasznahorkai László íróval". Friderikusz Podcast (Podcast) (in Hungarian). No. 85. Interviewed by Friderikusz, Sándor. 14 December 2023. Event occurs at 41:54. Retrieved 19 October 2025 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ a b c d e "László Krasznahorkai, The Art of Fiction No. 240". The Paris Review. No. 225. Interviewed by Thirlwell, Adam. Summer 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Krasznahorkai László: "Az arabok biztos elfogadnának, hogy megkínozzanak és agyonlőjenek"". Szombat (in Hungarian). 16 December 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  10. ^ a b Bod, Péter (28 January 1998). "A Márai-díjas Krasznahorkai". Békés Megyei Nap (in Hungarian). Vol. 5, no. 23. p. 5. Retrieved 11 October 2025 – via Arcanum Newspapers.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Hafner, Zoltán; Juhász, Tibor. "Krasznahorkai László: Életrajz" (in Hungarian). Digitális Irodalmi Akadémia [hu]. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Ilyen volt a gimnazista Krasznahorkai László". Gyulai Hírlap (in Hungarian). 11 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Váradi, Júlia (5 April 2017). "Iinterjú Krasznahorkai Lászlóval". Dobszerda (in Hungarian). Klubrádió. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  14. ^ Panek, Sándor (9 October 2025). "Krasznahorkai László kapta az idei irodalmi Nobel-díjat, aki a Szegedi Tudományegyetemnek is volt hallgatója". SZTEhírek (in Hungarian). University of Szeged. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "Krasznahorkai László irodalmi Nobel-díjas" (in Hungarian). Hungarian Academy of Sciences. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  16. ^ "László Krasznahorkai". CCCB. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  17. ^ a b c d e Bausells, Marta (20 May 2015). "Everything you need to know about László Krasznahorkai, winner of the Man Booker International prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  18. ^ a b "2025 Nobel Prize in Literature: László Krasznahorkai". DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "László Krasznahorkai". Hungarian Review. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019.
  20. ^ Vonnak, Diana (25 April 2014). "East Meets East: Krasznahorkai's Intellectual Affair With Japan". Hungarian Literature Online. Archived from the original on 8 September 2015.
  21. ^ Castillo, Sebastian (26 April 2012). "László Krasznahorkai: The Disciplined Madness". Guernica. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  22. ^ a b Flood, Alison (19 May 2015). "Man Booker International prize 2015 won by 'visionary' László Krasznahorkai". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  23. ^ Hopkins, James (2013). "Against the brutal, against the bad: An Interview with László Krasznahorkai". Transcript. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  24. ^ Fenstermaker, Will (19 November 2021). "László Krasznahorkai's 'Chasing Homer' Is Preoccupied with Its Own Madness". Frieze. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  25. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (29 April 2014). "Can you say Laszlo Krasznahorkai?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  26. ^ "László Krasznahorkai: Animalinside". The American University of Paris. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  27. ^ "Die Österreichische Nationalbibliothek gratuliert László Krasznahorkai zum Nobelpreis für Literatur". | Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (in Austrian German). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  28. ^ Kunzru, Hari (24 February 2025). "László Krasznahorkai on hope, apocalypse, and his new short story". The Yale Review. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  29. ^ Horváth, Bálint (9 November 2023). "Krasznahorkai Ágnes: Hozzá kellett szoknom az intézményes tanrendhez". filmhu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  30. ^ László Krasznahorkai – Author at New Directions Publishing (Retrieved 9 August 2012).
  31. ^ "László Krasznahorkai". Music & Literature Magazine. No. 2. 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  32. ^ Hafner, Zoltán; Juhász, Tibor. "Krasznahorkai László: Bibliográfia" (in Hungarian). Digitális Irodalmi Akadémia [hu]. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  33. ^ "Díjak, kitüntetések – 1987". Élet és Irodalom (in Hungarian). 31 (14): 8. 3 April 1987. Retrieved 9 October 2025 – via Arcanum Newspapers.
  34. ^ "Kaleidoszkóp: Díjak". Magyar Napló [hu] (in Hungarian). 4 (22): 44. 30 October 1992. ISSN 0865-2910. Retrieved 11 October 2025 – via Arcanum Newspapers.
  35. ^ "Preis der SWR-Bestenliste". Literaturpreis Gewinner. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  36. ^ "2004". Kossuth-díjasok. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  37. ^ "Literaturpreis 2010 an Alissa Walser und László Krasznahorkai [Literature Prize 2010 for Alissa Walser and László Krasznahorkai]" (in German). 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  38. ^ Farkas, Cintia (7 December 2012). "Ők lettek idén „primisszimák"". 24.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  39. ^ Post, Chad W. (6 May 2013). "2013 BTBA Winners". Three Percent. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015.
  40. ^ "America Awards". Green Integer Books. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  41. ^ Post, Chad W. (28 April 2014). "BTBA 2014: Poetry and Fiction Winners". Three Percent. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015.
  42. ^ "Winners". Festival Vilenica. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  43. ^ "Hungarian writer wins Man Booker International Prize". The Times of India. 20 May 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016.
  44. ^ "The New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Announces 2015–2016 Fellows". The New York Public Library. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  45. ^ "Krasznahorkai László Aegon-díjas". Litera.hu (in Hungarian). 22 March 2017. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  46. ^ "Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  47. ^ Literature. "Literature.gr Phrase of the Year Prize 2018 – Ceremony".
  48. ^ "Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur 2021 an László Krasznahorkai verliehen". OTS.at (in German). 26 July 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  49. ^ "Staatspreis für europäische Literatur an Krasznahorkai". oe1.orf.at (in German). 23 March 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  50. ^ онлајн, Политика. "Нобеловац Краснахоркаи већ овенчан признањем у Србији". Politika Online. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  51. ^ "László Krasznahorkai receives prestigious Spanish Formentor Literary Award". rcwlitagency.com. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  52. ^ "László Krasznahorkai Receives Formentor Literary Award". harriman.columbia.edu. Harriman Institute at Columbia University. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  53. ^ "Nobel Prize in Literature 2025". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 9 October 2025.

Further reading

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[edit]
  • László Krasznahorkai on Nobelprize.org Edit this at Wikidata
  • Media related to László Krasznahorkai at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
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