László Krasznahorkai facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
László Krasznahorkai
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| Born | 5 January 1954 Gyula, Békés County, Hungarian People's Republic |
| Occupation | Novelist, screenwriter |
| Language | Hungarian, German |
| Alma mater | Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) (University of Budapest) József Attila University (JATE) (University of Szeged) |
| Period | 1985–present |
| Genre | Novels, short stories, screenplays |
| Literary movement | Postmodernism |
| Notable works | Satantango (1985) The Melancholy of Resistance (1989) War and War (1999) Seiobo There Below (2008) Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (2016) |
| Notable awards | Man Booker International Prize Kossuth Prize DAAD fellowship |
| Spouse | Anikó Pelyhe (m. 1990, divorced) Dorka Haller (m. 1997, divorced) |
| Children | 3 (Kata, Ágnes, and Emma) |
László Krasznahorkai (born January 5, 1954) is a famous writer and screenwriter from Hungary. He is known for writing novels that make readers think deeply. His books often explore themes that might seem a bit dark or serious, like stories about difficult futures.
Many of his novels, such as Satantango (written in 1985) and The Melancholy of Resistance (from 1989), have been made into movies. A well-known Hungarian film director named Béla Tarr turned these books into films.
Contents
Early Life and Education
László Krasznahorkai was born in Gyula, Hungary, on January 5, 1954. He grew up in a middle-class family. His father, György Krasznahorkai, was a lawyer, and his mother, Júlia Pálinkás, worked in social security.
In 1972, he finished high school, where he focused on Latin. He then studied law at the József Attila University (now University of Szeged) from 1973 to 1976. Later, he studied at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest from 1976 to 1978.
From 1978 to 1983, he studied Hungarian language and literature at ELTE. He earned his degree after writing about the writer Sándor Márai, who left Hungary in 1948. While studying literature, Krasznahorkai also worked at a publishing company.
Career as a Writer
After finishing his university studies, László Krasznahorkai became a full-time writer. In 1985, his first novel, Satantango, became very popular. This book quickly made him a well-known writer in Hungary. It later won a Best Translated Book Award in English in 2013.
In 1987, he traveled outside of Communist Hungary for the first time. He spent a year in West Berlin with a special scholarship. After the Soviet Bloc ended, he lived in many different places around the world.
In 1990, he visited East Asia for the first time. His experiences in Mongolia and China inspired him to write books like The Prisoner of Urga and Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens. He has visited China many times since then.
In 1993, his novel The Melancholy of Resistance won a German literary prize for the best book of the year. In 1996, he was a guest at a special institute in Berlin. While writing his novel War and War, he traveled widely across Europe. The American poet Allen Ginsberg helped him a lot with this book. Krasznahorkai even stayed in Ginsberg's apartment in New York.
He spent six months in Kyoto, Japan, in 1996, 2000, and 2005. His time in the Far East changed his writing style and the topics he wrote about. He often returns to Germany and Hungary, but he has also lived in the United States, Spain, Greece, and Japan. These travels inspired his novel Seiobo There Below, which won the Best Translated Book Award in 2014.
Since 1985, the film director and his friend Béla Tarr has made movies mostly based on Krasznahorkai's books. These films include Sátántangó and Werckmeister Harmonies. Krasznahorkai said that the 2011 film The Turin Horse would be their last movie together. Krasznahorkai has also worked closely with the artist Max Neumann. They created the illustrated story Chasing Homer (2021), which also has music by jazz musician Szilveszter Miklós.
László Krasznahorkai is highly praised by critics around the world. Famous writer Susan Sontag called him "the contemporary Hungarian master." Another writer, W. G. Sebald, said his vision was as great as that of Nikolai Gogol. In 2015, he won the Man Booker International Prize. He was the first Hungarian author to receive this important award.
Personal Life
László Krasznahorkai lived in Berlin, Germany, for several years. He was also a guest professor at the Free University of Berlin for six months. Today, he lives quietly in the hills of Szentlászló in Hungary.
He has three children: Kata, Ágnes, and Emma. He was married to Anikó Pelyhe and later to Dóra Kopcsányi, who is a sinologist (someone who studies China) and a graphic designer.
Works
Novels
- 1985: Satantango (Sátántangó)
- 1989: The Melancholy of Resistance (Az ellenállás melankóliája)
- 1992: The Prisoner of Urga (Az urgai fogoly)
- 1999: War & War (Háború és háború)
- 2004: Destruction and Sorrow Beneath the Heavens (Rombolás és bánat az Ég alatt)
- 2008: Seiobo There Below (Seiobo járt odalent)
- 2016: Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (Báró Wenckheim hazatér)
- 2021: Herscht 07769
- 2024: Zsömle odavan
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)
- 2009: The Last Wolf (Az utolsó farkas)
- 2010: Animalinside (Állatvanbent), with Max Neumann (a mix of writing and pictures)
- 2018: Spadework for a Palace (Aprómunka egy palotaért)
- 2019: Chasing Homer (Mindig Homérosznak), with illustrations by Max Neumann
Short Story Collections
- 1986: Relations of Grace (Kegyelmi viszonyok)
- 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)
Individual Short Stories
- 1984: "The Bogdanovich Story" ("El Bogdanovichtól")
- 1986: "The Last Boat" ("Az utolsó hajó")
- 1998: "Isaiah Has Come" ("Megjött Ézsaiás")
- 1999: "Dumb to the Deaf" ("Néma a süketnek")
- 2010: "The Bill: For Palma Vecchio, at Venice" ("Számla: Palma Vecchiónak, Velencébe")
Essays, Interviews, and Other Works
- 1993: The Universal Theseus (A Théseus-általános), three fictional talks.
- 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, a special magazine issue with his writings and essays about his work.
- 2017: The Manhattan Project, a diary with photos.
Screenplays for Films
- 1988: Damnation (Kárhozat), directed by Béla Tarr.
- 1989: The Last Boat (Az utolsó hajó), directed by Béla Tarr.
- 1994: Sátántangó, directed by Béla Tarr.
- 1997–2001: Werckmeister Harmonies (Werckmeister harmóniák), directed by Béla Tarr.
- 2007: The Man from London (A Londoni férfi), directed by Béla Tarr.
- 2011: The Turin Horse (A torinói ló), directed by Béla Tarr.
Honors and Awards
László Krasznahorkai has won many literary prizes. These include the Kossuth Prize, which is Hungary's highest state award, and the Man Booker International Prize for his books translated into English.
- 2024: Prix Formentor
- 2021: Austrian State Prize for European Literature
- 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: Man Booker International Prize
- 2015: The New York Public Library's Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Fellow
- 2014: Vilenica Prize (Vilenica International Literary Festival, Slovenia)
- 2014: Best Translated Book Award, winner for Seiobo There Below
- 2014: America Award for his lifetime contribution to international writing
- 2013: Best Translated Book Award, winner for Satantango
- 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
- 2009: Prize of the Society of Writers (Budapest, Hungary)
- 2008: Hungarian Heritage-Award, (Budapest, Hungary)
- 2007: Nominated for Jean-Monnet Prize for European Literature (France)
- 2004: Kossuth Prize (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)
See also
In Spanish: László Krasznahorkai para niños
