People like László Krasznahorkai

László Krasznahorkai (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈlaːsloː ˈkrɒsnɒhorkɒi]; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, notably his novels Satantango (Sátántangó, 1985) and The Melancholy of Resistance (Az ellenállás melankóliája, 1989), have been turned into feature films by Hungarian film director Béla Tarr.

Krasznahorkai was born in Gyula, Hungary on 5 January 1954 to a middle-class Jewish 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. From 1973 to 1976 he studied law at the József Attila University (since 1999, University of Szeged) and from 1976 to 1978 at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest. From 1978 to 1983 he studied Hungarian language and literature at ELTE, receiving his degree for a thesis on the work and experiences of writer and journalist Sándor Márai (1900–1989) after he fled the Communist regime in 1948 (Márai lived in exile in Italy and later San Diego, California). During his years as a literature student, Krasznahorkai worked at the publishing company Gondolat Könyvkiadó.