Genres

Absurdist Fiction

Citation Formats

General Reference

Literature Atlas. "Absurdist Fiction." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://literature.interactiveatlas.org/genres/absurdist-fiction.

APA Style

Literature Atlas. (n.d.). Absurdist Fiction. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://literature.interactiveatlas.org/genres/absurdist-fiction

BibTeX

@misc{literatureatlas-absurdist-fiction,
  author = {Literature Atlas},
  title = {Absurdist Fiction},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://literature.interactiveatlas.org/genres/absurdist-fiction},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

A genre of novels, plays, poems, films and other media focused on characters who cannot find any inherent purpose in the situations they face, extending existentialist philosophy's account of the pointlessness of the human condition.

Facts

Place of Origin

Early to mid-20th-century Europe, extending from existentialist philosophy through writers including Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco and Albert Camus. 1

Notable Example

Franz Kafka's The Trial, written between 1914 and 1915, recognised as Kafka's most well-known fiction. 1

Defining Trait

Characters confront situations in which no inherent purpose or meaning can be found; the genre is considered an extension of, or divergence from, existentialism. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

Albert Camus

Named among the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Samuel Beckett

Named among the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Held Differently

Theatre of the Absurd

A different facet of the same territory, not a rejection: Absurdist Fiction is the broader prose-and-drama genre; Theatre of the Absurd names the mid-20th-century dramatists working the mode specifically on stage.

Source Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Sources

1. Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationOpening paragraph

Quote, Opening paragraph

Absurdist fiction is a genre of novels, plays, poems, films, or other media that focuses on the experiences of characters in situations where they cannot find any inherent purpose in life.

View the Source

1. Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationContext and origins section

Quote, Context and origins section

Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Albert Camus are considered to be the most well-known composers of absurdist fiction. Absurdism as a philosophical movement is an extension of, or divergence from, Existentialism, which focuses on the pointlessness of mankind. The Trial, written between 1914 and 1915, is recognised as Kafka's most well-known fiction.

View the Source

1. Absurdist Fiction (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Albert Camus

Quote, Associated With: Albert Camus