Krasznahorkai was presented with the prize by Swedish King Carl Gustaf XVI at the Stockholm Concert Hall.

In her opening address, Astrid Soderbergh Widding, chair of the Board of the Nobel Foundation, said: "The prize in literature is awarded to an authorship where melancholy and apocalypse seem to dominate the picture, but where the force of art and creation, unfathomable as it is, may still transcend the dark and violent powers."

"Through knowledge, integrity and excellence, through creativity and inspiration, the laureates offer hope," she said.

"We must not just be passive spectators, but active contributors in defending the freedom of science and literature and the strive for peace to transform the world into a better place for humankind."

Praising the Hungarian writer, Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel Committee for Literature, said it was "Krasznahorkai's greatness as a writer to have succeeded in combining an artistic gaze, entirely free of illusion, that sees through the fragility of the orders established by man, with an unwavering faith in the power of literature".

He praised Krasznahorkai's 1985 novel Satantango in which the writer "portrays, in powerfully suggestive terms, a dejected group of souls on a largely abandoned collective farm just before the fall of communism".

"This apocalyptic theme is further heightened in Krasznahorkai's second major novel, The Melancholy of Resistance, which is set in a small town in a Carpathian valley," Olsson said.

In his later works, Krasznahorkai "further develops his existentially penetrating writing, rooted as it is in a central European tradition of dark absurdism and burlesque humour that extends from Franz Kafka to Thomas Bernhard," he said.

"Krasznahorkai's signature as a writer is a flowing syntax that encompasses both weightiness and lightness, melancholy and elation, tall tales and poetic intensity," Olsson said.

Krasznahorkai 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".

MTI Stock Photo - for illustrative purposes only

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

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