Last year, South Korean author Han Kang received the Nobel Prize in Literature. On Thursday, Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, announced that László Krasznahorkai is this year’s laureate.
“For his visionary and powerful writing that, amidst the horror of fate, maintains faith in the possibilities of art,” reads the statement.
When P1 Kultur arrives at László Krasznahorkai, he is happy and a little nervous.
“This is the first day in my life that I have received the Nobel Prize. I don’t know what will happen in the future,” he tells the radio.
Mats Malm stated at the press conference at the Börshuset that he had managed to contact the laureate, who is on a private trip to Germany.
I’m in a friend’s apartment in Frankfurt and thought, “It’s not possible,” Krasznahorkai tells TT.
“No concessions until the end.”
It’s unclear what he’ll do with the 11 million kroner prize.
Do you receive money? No, just kidding, next question!
The 71-year-old Hungarian made his debut in 1985 with the novel Satantango. The film was later adapted by director Béla Tarr, who also directed a film based on the apocalyptic novel The Melancholy of Resistance (1989).
A production of “The Melancholy of Resistance” is currently running at the Stockholm Drama Theatre. László Krasznahorkai’s latest play, “Herscht 07769,” from 2021, consists of a single sentence spanning almost 400 pages.
He has been considered a candidate for the literary prize for several years. Krasznahorkai’s work is characterized by both darkness and humor.
“She has been uncompromising throughout her writing. There is darkness, but also a touch of humor in what she writes,” says Peter Karlsson, editor of her Swedish publishing house Norstedts, in Nyhetsdagen.
The publishing house celebrates in style.
Peter Karlsson is proud and points out that there will likely be an increase in sales figures in the future.
“How will you continue to celebrate this during the day?”
“Maybe they’ll call the printers. And more foam, shavings, and whatever.”
