WINNER OF THE 2025 NOBEL PRIZE
A magnificent new collection of stories by “the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse” (Susan Sontag)
The World Goes On by László Krasznahorkai is a collection of interconnected short prose pieces that explore human existence in a world marked by decay, repetition, and quiet persistence.
Rather than following a single plot, the book presents a series of fragments—some resembling short stories, others closer to philosophical sketches—that revisit familiar Krasznahorkai themes: isolation, obsession, futility, and the tension between hope and inevitability. Characters drift through ruined landscapes, provincial towns, and historical moments, often driven by grand ideals or private fixations that ultimately collide with indifference or collapse.
Stylistically, the work is defined by long, flowing sentences and a hypnotic, circling rhythm. Events rarely resolve in a traditional sense; instead, they echo and repeat, reinforcing the sense that while individual lives falter or vanish, existence itself continues relentlessly. The title reflects this central idea: despite failure, despair, or catastrophe, the world simply goes on.
