Nobel week has swept into Stockholm and Oslo, bringing with it a flurry of anticipation, celebration, and reflection as the world’s most prestigious prizes are set to be awarded. This year’s events, unfolding in the crisp Scandinavian winter, have been punctuated by rare public appearances, deeply philosophical lectures, and an undercurrent of political significance that has captivated audiences both locally and around the globe.
At the heart of the literary world’s attention is Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, who, at 71, received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature. Known for his surreal and anarchic novels that blend a bleak worldview with mordant humor, Krasznahorkai has long been a somewhat elusive figure. According to the Associated Press, his appearance in Stockholm on Sunday, December 7, 2025, marked one of his rare ventures into the public eye—a fact that only heightened the anticipation surrounding his Nobel lecture.
In a packed auditorium, Krasznahorkai addressed an audience eager to hear the mind behind such lauded works as Satantango, The Melancholy of Resistance, War and War, Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming, and Herscht 07769. Delivered in Hungarian and translated for the international crowd, his lecture was anything but conventional. Rather than dwell on tales of hope, he began with a striking admission: “On receiving the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, I originally wished to share my thought with you on the subject of hope, but as my stories of hope have definitely come to an end, I will now speak about angels.”
The angels Krasznahorkai described were not the celestial beings of old. Instead, he painted a haunting metaphor of “new angels”—wingless, messageless figures who walk among us, unrecognizable and searching for human recognition. “They just stand there and look at us, they are searching for our gaze, and in this search there is a plea for us, to look into their eyes, so that we ourselves can transmit a message to them, only that unfortunately, we have no message to give,” he said, his words winding through long, apocalyptic sentences that echoed the stylistic trademarks of his novels, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Krasznahorkai’s vision is not a gentle one. He spoke of a world in perpetual conflict, where “there is war, war and only war, war in nature, war in society, and this war is being waged not only with weapons, not only with torture, not only with destruction: of course, this is one end of the scale, but this war proceeds at the opposite of the scale as well, because one single bad word is enough.” It’s a perspective that aligns with the Nobel judges’ assessment of his work. They described him as “a great epic writer” whose novels are “characterized by absurdism and grotesque excess.” The Nobel Prize organization further situated him within a Central European tradition, noting that his writing is marked by pessimism, apocalypse, humor, and unpredictability.
The significance of his win is underscored by the company he keeps. Last year’s Nobel literature laureate was South Korean author Han Kang, while the 2023 honor went to Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, whose own literary experiment—a seven-book epic composed of a single sentence—captured imaginations worldwide. Krasznahorkai’s works, now widely available in English, continue this tradition of pushing literary boundaries and challenging readers’ expectations.
Yet, Nobel week is not just about literature. Oslo, the Norwegian capital, is preparing for a momentous occasion of its own. María Corina Machado, the 58-year-old Venezuelan opposition leader and Peace Prize laureate, is set to make her first public appearance since January 2025. Machado, who has been in hiding due to political persecution in her home country, will travel to Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in person on Wednesday, December 10, 2025, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK and the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Kristian Harpviken. “I spoke with the Peace Prize winner last night, and she will come to Oslo,” Harpviken confirmed.
Machado’s award is a recognition of her ongoing struggle to achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela—a struggle that has placed her at odds with the country’s leadership and forced her into months of seclusion. Her presence in Oslo is expected to send a powerful message, not just to Venezuelans but to advocates of democracy and human rights worldwide. The Peace Prize ceremony, held in Oslo, stands apart from the other Nobel events, which are hosted in Stockholm, reflecting Alfred Nobel’s original vision for the awards.
The Nobel Prize ceremonies, scheduled for December 10, 2025, mark the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896, a tradition that imbues the proceedings with a sense of solemnity and historical gravitas. Laureates in each field—literature, peace, and beyond—are celebrated not just for their achievements, but for the ideals they represent and the change they inspire.
For Krasznahorkai, the Nobel week has offered a rare opportunity to step into the limelight and share his philosophical musings with a global audience. His reflections on angels, dignity, and the human condition resonated with listeners, many of whom are still digesting the layers of meaning in his prose. As the Los Angeles Times reported, his lecture was a meditation on the silent, often overlooked struggles that define our era—conflicts both external and internal, waged with words as much as with weapons.
The literary community, meanwhile, has seized the moment to revisit Krasznahorkai’s body of work. His novels, steeped in the traditions of Central Europe yet brimming with universal themes, have found new readers eager to engage with his challenging, often unsettling vision of the world. The Nobel Prize has a way of shining a spotlight on voices that might otherwise remain in the shadows, and Krasznahorkai’s emergence onto the world stage is a testament to the enduring power of literature to provoke, unsettle, and ultimately connect us.
As Nobel week draws to a close, all eyes turn to the upcoming ceremonies. The juxtaposition of Krasznahorkai’s philosophical ruminations and Machado’s courageous political stand serves as a reminder that the Nobel Prizes are about more than accolades—they are about ideas, ideals, and the ongoing quest for meaning in a tumultuous world. Whether through the written word or the fight for democracy, this year’s laureates embody the spirit of Alfred Nobel’s legacy, challenging us to look beyond the surface and confront the deeper truths that shape our lives.
With laureates gathering, lectures delivered, and anticipation building for the awards, Stockholm and Oslo have once again become the epicenter of global recognition and reflection. This Nobel week, the world is reminded of the profound impact that literature and activism can have, even in the most uncertain of times.
