Absurdist Fiction: 5 Characteristics of Absurdist Literature

Absurdist fiction is a genre of literature that uses non-chronological storytelling, surrealism, and comedy to explore themes like existentialism and the human condition. The absurd in literature often follows main characters who feel purposeless, or have developed a disillusionment with their lives, religion, or society.

Absurdist literature includes novels, short stories, films, and plays. European dramatists during the absurdist movement in the 1950s designated their absurdist and avant-garde plays as the “Theatre of the Absurd,” a term coined by the playwright Martin Esslin. Many essays were also written about absurdism as a movement, such as “Existentialism Is a Humanism” by Jean-Paul Sartre’s or “The Myth of Sisyphus” by Albert Camus, in which writers outline their philosophies on existentialism, God, and the meaning of life.

There are many common styles and themes that run throughout most absurdist literature:

1. 1. Irrational logic: Some elements of absurdist stories might not make immediate sense to the reader, and events or scenes might seem out of order, surreal, or inscrutable.
2. 2. Existential topics: Themes in absurdist fiction might explore life after death, what it means to be a human being, or the complexities of moral good and evil.
3. 3. Dark humor: Absurdism will often make light of vulgar or taboo topics, or aim to intentionally provoke the reader with themes of violence, sexuality, or death.
4. 4. Satire: It’s common to see satire, or social criticism in the form of comedy, that makes fun of society, government, types of people, and corporations.
5. 5. Nihilism: Characters in absurdist fiction will often find no purpose in human life, and will debate the meaninglessness of religion and morality.

Some essential literature is classified as absurdist fiction:

• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut: An absurdist and postmodern novel that satirizes technology and religion through a sci-fi story.
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: An anti-war novel that uses time travel to tell the story of a young US soldier during World War II.
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: A satirical novel set during World War II that explores the absurdity of war using non-chronological storytelling.
• Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett: This play centers on two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, as they ask existentialist questions about human existence while waiting for a person named Godot to arrive.
• The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: A novella that chronicles the experience of a salesman named Gregor Samsa who discovers that he has transformed into a giant insect.
• The Trial by Franz Kafka: A novel about a man who is put on trial, but doesn’t know what crime he committed or who is accusing him.
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard: This play follows the stories of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they try to make sense of the events unfolding around them.
• The Bald Soprano by Eugène Ionesco: A play that follows a couple from London who invite another couple over to visit and have seemingly meaningless conversations.
• The Plague by Albert Camus: A novel about a plague sweeping through a city in French Algeria, told from the perspective of a mysterious narrator.
• The Stranger by Albert Camus: A novella that follows a man who is sentenced to death for the murder of another man, with the reader getting his perspective from both before and after the murder.
• Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll: A novel following a young girl named Alice who enters a mirror that takes her to a surrealist fantasy world called Wonderland, where everything is reversed.
• V. by Thomas Pynchon: This novel follows a recently discharged Navy man, Benny Profane, who connects with artists in New York, as well as a man named Herbert Stencil who is searching for an entity known as V.
• Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami: A novel with two interlaced plots that follow a 15-year-old boy named Kafka who runs away from home and a man named Kataka who searches for lost cats.
• The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien: A novel about a man who becomes an orphan at a young age and dedicates his life to studying the work of de Selby.
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: A novel that chronicles the many issues faced by Black Americans in the twentieth century through satire and comedic events.
• Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee: A play that follows a young couple who invite over another couple, who then become involved in their turbulent relationship.
• The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter: A play about a birthday party that is visited by two strangers who turn the event into a nightmare.

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