House of Europe Award recognises the best translated publication of the year

“The Melancholy of Resistance” by Hungarian author, novelist, screenwriter, and Nobel Prize laureate László Krasznahorkai has won the Best Translated Publication category at the House of Europe Award.

Translated from Hungarian by Oleksandr Vesheleni and published by Komora, the novel portrays a small Hungarian town spiralling into chaos after the arrival of a mysterious travelling circus. The story serves as an allegory of mass hysteria, power, and resistance, turning a local narrative into a broader reflection on manipulation and society.

“It is utterly irrational that amidst the countless ruins and burning buildings, in those moments when no bombs are heard and thus disaster looms amidst the torture and shelling, when deadly contraptions spring to life above our heads at our slightest movement, ready to instantly swoop down to destroy us, to destroy the far-from-sober sense of reason within us, which from here — from the crumbling Union — observes how what looks like evil of  impossible proportions is, in fact, evil and entirely possible so, that in times of such tragic circumstances, someone translated a book, edited it, proofread, and later, in the hell of Kharkiv, it was printed by a few people who, from that side, look like nothing more than the most despised targets,” Krasznahorkai wrote in a letter to Vesheleni after receiving his author’s copies.

The House of Europe Award recognises individuals and organisations advancing Ukraine through partnerships with the EU and the UK. The award includes nine categories:

• Best International Cultural Cooperation
• Best International Educational Cooperation
• Best International Media Cooperation
• Representation of Ukrainian Culture in the EU
• Leader in European Integration
• Excellence in Cultural Heritage Preservation
• Promoting the Culture of National Minorities
• Leader in Culture
• Best Translated Publication

As reported earlier, “The Melancholy of Resistance” was shortlisted for the House of Europe Award alongside five other books: “A Whole Bunch of Feelings” in Braille by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, “Women and Power: A Manifesto” by Mary Beard, “Alindarka’s Children” by Alhierd Bacharevič, “Always, Clementine” by Carlie Sorosiak, and “Akmenėlis” by Marius Marcinkevičius.

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