Absurdist fiction doesn’t take itself too seriously – it relies heavily on comedic and surreal elements to explore darker themes such as existentialism. Oftentimes, absurdist fiction is told non-chronologically, and elements of the story will slowly emerge over time from their wacky backdrops.
In the first movement focus blog post, we’re going to be taking a deeper dive into the absurd, the ridiculous and the preposterous. The etymology of ‘absurd’ comes from the Latin absurdum, meaning ‘out of tune’ – which is a lovely way to put it!
What’s the history of absurdist fiction?
In response to the Romanticism movement, collapse of religious tradition in Germany and the works of Nietzsche and Kierkgaard, absurdism emerged into the public sphere in the 1950s. It started when avant-garde novels, short stories, plays and films mirroring the general feelings of disillusionment following the war were popularised. Beginning as the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, the genre soon emerged beyond this and the essays that brought it to the public’s attention.
Absurdism’s philosophical roots are actually a divergence from existentialism, though absurdist works may contain some of the same themes. Existentialism focuses on the pointlessness of humanity, particularly the anxiety which boils up when the concept of purpose is challenged.
What is absurdist fiction?
The main characters of absurdist fiction tend to be directionless or unhappy with their lives – or at the very least, considering their place in the universe deeply. Depending on how ‘deep’ this type of fiction goes, there may even be some critique of religion or society to be found.
Unpredictable juxtapositions, comedy that heavily relies on non-sequiturs and the complete disregard for concrete principles like causality are close associations of absurdism – but what it all revolves around is the study of human behaviour under these absurd circumstances rather than necessarily the randomness itself.
Additionally, absurdist fiction tends to be an outlier compared to many other types of writing, as it does not directly appeal – it is concerned with individualism and will usually focus on one character or group of people in particular in order to focus on their raw, innermost feelings regarding their existence.
Key features of absurdist fiction
There are some common themes to contend with in absurdist literature – the main one being dark humour. Taboo topics will be covered with a comedic angle in order to bring them to light and make the reader consider them in a different way – as always, there are many different topics that could be covered, such as violence, sexuality, death, or others.
Existentialism or nihilism are usually go-to topics to cover in absurdist writing, as they are very interesting to cover and gauge a character’s reaction to. Alongside this, irrational logic and surrealist happenings are often used to throw a spanner into the works of anything that makes too much sense.
Absurdism is very closely linked to satire, as well as social criticism – no one is safe as this can cover lots of ground like society, government, corporations or other topics. Often, the genre can be useful for obscuring information so that only the most clued-up readers can peel away the layers to get at the alternate meanings underneath.
What are some famous examples of absurdist fiction?
Hoo, boy – there are millions of them out there, and as always book recommendation is an art which is hugely subjective.
- Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- The Stranger by Albert Camus
- Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
- Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The genre has also dwarfed its rather humble origins, and lays its spindly fingers in many other forms of work. Magical realism has some absolutely stupendous examples of absurdism, such as Yukiko Motoya’s Picnic in The Storm – among countless brilliant others.
That’s absurd!
That was an exploration of absurdist writing – including some examples to brush up on (if you can be bothered) and a quick little summary of what to expect from the genre. It’s a really interesting and multi-faceted expression of what it means to be human, so well worth knowing about.
Impish Fen 
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