Hungary on Thursday celebrated writer László Krasznahorkai winning the Nobel Prize in literature for his "compelling and visionary oeuvre."

The Nobel judges on Thursday highlighted his ability to see through social fragility while maintaining faith in art's power.

The 71-year-old Krasznahorkai is the first Hungarian winner since 2002.

In Budapest, Éva Rédei, the owner of a liberal bookstore said "a greater recognition for Hungarian literature is not really possible."

Rédei and her colleagues have been speculating that Krasznahorkai might one day receive the prize.

"But what was delayed, happened now. We are very happy, we are very proud of him” she said, adding she's now ordering more of his books.

"We also sell his books, but in very small copies. As soon as I heard the news, I ordered more."

The Nobel judges praised Krasznahorkai’s "artistic gaze which is entirely free of illusion, and which sees through the fragility of the social order combined with his unwavering belief in the power of art," Steve Sem-Sandberg of the Nobel committee said at the announcement.

Experts said that Krasznahorkai’s apocalyptic and surreal novels probe the utter hopelessness of the condition of human existence.

He has also written several books inspired by his travels to China and Japan.

AP video by Bela Szandelszky