Kafka: the master of the absurd goes viral

2024 was the big Kafka year: 100 years after his death, the German-speaking writer from Prague was celebrated worldwide, his books were published in new editions, exhibitions were opened and reading marathons were held. It would be natural to assume that after an anniversary like this, the excitement would wane – especially given the fact that Kafka’s works are anything but easily accessible. Yet Kafka endures. In fact for some, he’s even become something of a guru. His quotes are translated into various languages and pop up on Instagram as melancholic aesthetic posts, while TikTok users condense “The Metamorphosis” into 30-second clips, and on X students around the globe bemoan how their everyday lives eerily resemble a Kafka novel.

The more chaotic the world becomes, the more realistic Kafka’s stories seem to us. Take bureaucracy, for instance – that clunky system which bungles even the simplest tasks: anyone who’s tried to contact their internet provider through an AI customer service, or renew their passport, can imagine what it feels like to be a minor character in “The Trial”. Young people today appear to feel more connected to Kafka’s tales than ever before. And then there’s “The Metamorphosis” itself: the perfect metaphor for the pubertal horror of waking up one morning as vermin – or even worse, as someone saddled with embarrassing parents.

Would Kafka himself have celebrated this cult status? Probably not: he actually said he wanted all his works to be burnt after his death. Instead, his quotes now drift through TikTok videos or are inked as tattoos on the forearms of late-adolescent influencers. He has become the new old hero of Generation Z: the more the world feels like a Kafkaesque nightmare, the more Kafka helps us to understand it.