László Krasznahorkai wins Nobel Prize in Literature
Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai (71) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. Krasznahorkai, who has achieved worldwide fame with novels such as "Satantango" and "Melancholy of Resistance", had already won the International Booker Prize in 2015. He is a controversial figure in Hungary because of his harsh criticism of Viktor Orbán's government.
Powerful visions of another world
Die Presse publishes the following tribute by literary scholar Klaus Kastberger:
“László Krasznahorkai is a grand master of literary intensity. ... In his novels, he uses masterful and intricately interwoven sentences to describe decaying realities, disappointed hopes and the violence of social contexts. Some of his books are now banned in Hungarian schools, but Krasznahorkai remains a European author of international renown: powerful visions of another world pervade his works, promises of salvation are built up, only to collapse. Humour always lurks in his sense of melancholy. As if it were the very agent of a freer and better life.”
This writer gets to the heart of things
László Krasznahorkai is political, but not in the normal sense, Magyar Hang stresses:
“Because he he addresses the existential, he stands far above the everyday, simplistic description of 'national character'. He does not operate on the same level as the chest-thumping, self-righteous patriots or those who project the fundamental criticism of his art onto the current political power [Viktor Orbán's government]. In light of his unmistakably political novels, it becomes clear that what we call politics on an everyday level is only a distorted parody of the distorted parody that Krasznahorkai recreates in his writing.”
Artistic achievement is the decisive factor
You don't have to agree with László Krasznahorkai on political issues to acknowledge his achievements, writes author Ákos Győrffy in the pro-government weekly Mandiner:
“I can see that (as was the case when Imre Kertész was honoured in 2002) emotions are boiling over again. ... On the one hand, there is criticism ('he's not a real Hungarian writer', 'liberal know-it-all', 'traitor to the fatherland'); on the other, the interpretation is already crystallising that this prize is for the 'other' Hungary [critical of Viktor Orbán's government]. At the same time, we're talking about an exceptional individual artistic achievement - and that's what counts. Even if the person whose achievement it is makes statements or has thoughts we may not like.”