László Krasznahorkai (; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels '' Satantango'' (, 1985) and ''

The Melancholy of Resistance ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' ( hu, Az ellenállás melankóliája) is a 1989 novel by the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. The narrative is set in a restless town where a mysterious circus, which exhibits a whale and nothing else, cont ...

'' (, 1989), have been turned into feature films by Hungarian film director

Béla Tarr Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film ''Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordin ...

Early life and education

Krasznahorkai was born in

Gyula, Hungary Gyula (; german: Jula; ro, Jula or ) is a town in Békés County, Hungary. The town is best known for its Medieval castle and a thermal bath. Ferenc Erkel, the composer of the Hungarian national anthem, and Albrecht Dürer the Elder, the fath ...

on 5 January 1954 to a middle-class

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family on his father's side. His father, György Krasznahorkai, was a lawyer and his mother, Júlia Pálinkás, a social security administrator. In 1972 Krasznahorkai graduated from the Erkel Ferenc high school where he specialized in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. From 1973 to 1976 he studied law at the József Attila University (now

University of Szeged , mottoeng = Truth. Bravery. Freedom. , established = , type = Public research university , founder = Emperor Franz Joseph I , affiliation = European University Association, Science Without Borders, Confucius Institute , budget = US$220 m ...

) and from 1976 to 1978 at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest. From 1978 to 1983 he studied

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

ELTE Faculty of Humanities The Faculty of Humanities is the oldest faculty of Eötvös Loránd University and is located on the institution's Trefort Garden campus in Józsefváros, Budapest, Hungary. It was founded by the Cardinal Archbishop of Esztergom Prince Primate o ...

, receiving his degree. His

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

was on the work and experiences of writer and journalist

Sándor Márai (; Archaic English name: Alexander Márai; 11 April 1900 – 21 February 1989) was a Hungarian writer, poet, and journalist. Biography Márai was born on 11 April 1900 in the city of Kassa, Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia). Through his fat ...

(1900–1989) after he fled the Communist regime in 1948. During his years as a literature student, Krasznahorkai worked at the publishing company Gondolat Könyvkiadó.

Career as writer

Since completing his university studies, Krasznahorkai has supported himself as an independent author. In 1985, his debut novel '' Satantango'' achieved success, and he was immediately thrust into the forefront of Hungarian literary life. The book is a

dystopian novel Utopian and dystopian fiction are genres of speculative fiction that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality intended to appeal to ...

set in his homeland of Hungary, and is considered his best known work. It received a

Best Translated Book Award The Best Translated Book Award is an American literary award that recognizes the previous year's best original translation into English, one book of poetry and one of fiction. It was inaugurated in 2008 and is conferred by Three Percent, the onlin ...

in English in 2013. He travelled outside of Communist Hungary for the first time in 1987, spending a year in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

as a recipient of a DAAD fellowship. Since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, he has lived in a variety of locations. In 1990, for the first time, he was able to spend a significant amount of time in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

. He drew upon his experiences in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and China in writing '' The Prisoner of Urga'' and '' Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens''. He has returned many times to China. In 1993, his novel ''

'' received the German Bestenliste-Prize for the best literary work of the year. In 1996, he was a guest of the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin. While completing the novel ''

War and War ''War and War'' () is a 1999 novel by the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. It tells the story of a Hungarian man who is obsessed with a mysterious manuscript, which he decides to travel to New York City to write down and post on the Interne ...

'', he travelled widely across Europe. The American poet

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

was of great assistance in completing the work; Krasznahorkai resided for some time in Ginsberg's New York apartment, and he described the poet's friendly advice as valuable in bringing the book to life. In 1996, 2000, and 2005 he spent six months in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. His contact with the aesthetics and literary theory of the Far East resulted in significant changes in his writing style and deployed themes. He returns often to both Germany and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, but he has also spent varying lengths of time in several other countries, including the United States, Spain, Greece, and Japan, providing inspiration for his novel ''

Seiobo There Below ''Seiobo There Below'' () is a 2008 novel by the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. It has an episodic narrative which focuses on artists of different times and places, some of which are historical people and some of which are fictional. A th ...

'', which won the

in 2014. Beginning in 1985, the director and the author's friend

made films almost exclusively based on Krasznahorkai's works, including ''

Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning ' Satan's Tango') is a 1994 drama film directed by Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Hungarian novelist ...

'' and ''

Werckmeister Harmonies ''Werckmeister Harmonies'' (; hu, Werckmeister harmóniák) is a 2000 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, based on the 1989 novel ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' by László Krasznahorkai. Shot in black-and-white a ...

''. Krasznahorkai said the 2011 film ''

The Turin Horse ''The Turin Horse'' ( hu, A torinói ló) is a 2011 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, starring János Derzsi, Erika Bók and Mihály Kormos. It was co-written by Tarr and his frequent collaborator László Krasznaho ...

'' would be their last collaboration. Krasznahorkai has also collaborated closely with the artist Max Neumann, including on the illustrated novella '' Chasing Homer'' (2021), which is accompanied by an original percussive score from the jazz musician Szilveszter Miklós. Krasznahorkai has received international acclaim from critics. Susan Sontag described him as "the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse who inspires comparison with

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

and Melville". W. G. Sebald remarked, "The universality of Krasznahorkai's vision rivals that of

's '' Dead Souls'' and far surpasses all the lesser concerns of contemporary writing." In 2015, he received the

Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...

, the first Hungarian author to be so awarded.

Personal life

After residing in Berlin, Germany for several years, where he was for six months S. Fischer Guest Professor at the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

, Krasznahorkai currently resides "as a recluse in the hills of Szentlászló" in Hungary.László Krasznahorkai – Author at New Directions Publishing
(Retrieved 9 August 2012). After divorcing his first wife, Anikó Pelyhe, whom he had married in 1990, he married Dóra Kopcsányi, a sinologist and graphic designer, in 1997. He has three children: Kata, Ágnes and Emma.

Works

Novels

* 1985: '' Satantango'' (''Sátántangó''), translated by

George Szirtes George Szirtes (; born 29 November 1948) is a British poet and translator from the Hungarian language into English. Originally from Hungary, he has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life after coming to the country as a refugee at the ...

( New Directions, 2012). * 1989: ''

'' (''Az ellenállás melankóliája''), translated by

(New Directions, 2000). * 1992: ''The Prisoner of Urga'' (''Az urgai fogoly''). * 1999: '' War & War'' (''Háború és háború''), translated by

(New Directions, 2006). * 2004: '' Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens'' (''Rombolás és bánat az Ég alatt''), translated by

Ottilie Mulzet Ottilie Mulzet (born July, 1960 in Toronto) is a literary translator of Hungarian poetry and prose whose work has been recognized with several major literary awards. She is known in particular for her translations of several books by László Kra ...

(Seagull Books, 2016). * 2008: ''

'' (''Seiobo járt odalent''), translated by

(New Directions, 2013). * 2016: ''

Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming ''Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming'' ( hu, Báró Wenckheim hazatér) is a 2016 novel by László Krasznahorkai. Originally published in Hungarian by Magvető, it was later translated to English by Ottilie Mulzet and published in 2019 by New Direc ...

'' (''Báró Wenckheim hazatér''), translated by

(New Directions, 2019). * 2021: '' Herscht 07769''. To be translated by

for New Directions.

Novellas

* 2003: ''A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East'' (''Északról hegy, Délről tó, Nyugatról utak, Keletről folyó''), translated by

(New Directions, 2022). * 2009: ''The Last Wolf'' (''Az utolsó farkas''), translated by

(New Directions, 2016; paired with John Batki's translation of "Herman" and "The Death of a Craft" from ''Relations of Grace''). * 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

* 1986: ''Relations of Grace'' (''Kegyelmi viszonyok''), to be translated by John Batki for New Directions. ** 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,

and

(New Directions, 2017).

Individual short stories

* 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

, included in ''War & 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

(Sylph Editions, 2013) and included in ''The World Goes On''.

Essays, interviews and other works

* 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. * 2010: ''Animalinside'' (''Állatvanbent''), together with Max Neumann, collage of prose and pictures, translated by

(New Directions, 2011; Sylph Editions, 2012). * 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. * 2017: ''The Manhattan Project'', a literary diary with a photographic essay, translated by John Batki (Sylph Editions, 2017).

Screenplays for films

* 1988: ''

Damnation Damnation (from Latin '':wikt:damnatio, damnatio'') is the concept of Divine judgment, divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religion, Anci ...

'' (''Kárhozat''), directed by

. * 1989: ''The Last Boat'' (''Az utolsó hajó''), directed by

. * 1994: ''

'', directed by

. * 1997–2001: ''

'' (''Werckmeister harmóniák''), directed by

. * 2007: ''

The Man from London ''The Man from London'' ( hu, A londoni férfi) is a 2007 Hungarian film directed by Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky. It is an adaptation by Tarr and his collaborator-friend László Krasznahorkai of the 1934 novel ''L'Homme de Londres'' by proli ...

'' (''A Londoni férfi''), directed by

. * 2011: ''

'' (''A torinói ló''), directed by

Honors and awards

Krasznahorkai has been honored with numerous literary prizes, among them the highest award of the Hungarian state, the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the ...

, and the

for his English-translated oeuvre. *2021:

Austrian State Prize for European Literature The Austrian State Prize for European Literature (german: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), also known in Austria as the European Literary Award (''Europäischer Literaturpreis''), is an Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

*2020
Literature.gr Phrase of the Year Prize 2018
* 2019: National Book Award for Translated Literature (USA) for ''Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming'' *2017: Aegon Art Award for ''Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming'' (Hungary) * 2015:

* 2015: The

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Fellow * 2014:

Vilenica Prize Vilenica International Literary Festival ( sl, Mednarodni literarni festival Vilenica) is a festival dedicated to literature that was founded in 1986 in Slovenia. It takes place annually in several locations on the Karst Plateau in the Slovene Lit ...

(Vilenica International Literary Festival, Slovenia) * 2014:

, winner for ''Seiobo There Below'', translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet. First author to win two BTBA awards. * 2014: America Award for a lifetime contribution to international writing * 2013:

, winner for ''Satantango'', translated from the Hungarian by

* 2012: Prima Primissima Prize (Budapest, Hungary) * 2010: Brücke-Berlin Prize (Berlin, Germany) for ''Seiobo There Below'' * 2010: Spycher-Prize (Leuk, Switzerland) for his complete work but in particular for ''From the North a Mountain, ...'' * 2009: Prize of the Society of Writers (Budapest, Hungary) * 2008: Hungarian Heritage-Award, (Budapest, Hungary) * 2007: Nominated for Jean Monnet Prize (France) * 2004:

(Hungary) * 2003: Soros Foundation Prize * 2002: Laureate of the Hungarian Republic (Magyar Köztársaság Babérkoszorúja) * 1998: Márai Sándor Prize (Hungarian Ministry of Education and Culture) * 1993: Krúdy Gyula Prize (Hungary) * 1993: Bestenliste-Prize (Baden-Baden, Germany) for ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' * 1992: Déry Tibor Award (Hungary) * 1987–1988: DAAD Fellowship (West Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany) * 1987: József Attila Prize (Hungary) * 1987: Mikes Kelemen Kör Prize (The Netherlands)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krasznahorkai, Laszlo 1954 births Living people People from Gyula Hungarian Jews 20th-century Hungarian novelists 20th-century Hungarian male writers 21st-century Hungarian novelists 21st-century Hungarian male writers Hungarian screenwriters Male screenwriters Postmodern writers Hungarian male novelists International Booker Prize winners Hungarian short story writers