Showing titles in Absurdist

Welcome to the Fiction on the Web audiobook series, featuring a collection of short stories with a different theme for each volume. Lovingly curated by the owner of Fiction On The Web, Charlie Fish. Come and share in the joy and power of short stories. The theme of this volume is Kafkaesque. You've probably heard of Franz Kafka even if you haven't read his books. You might even recognize his nightmarishly absurdist style. This volume explores a Kafkaesque world that's full of surprises.

Воспаление мозгов — рассказ Михаила Булгакова, посвященный всем редакторам еженедельных журналов. В произведении рассказывается о том, как ошалевший от жары и голода писатель, вынужденный срочно написать историю для одного журнала, вступил в беседу с собственными мозгами. И вот что из этого вышло.

Caught in a redundant housewife existence, Ann never leaves her beige suburban home, her schlubby do-nothing son Brian is directionless after graduating high-school, and it looks like nothing will ever change. But when Brian is swallowed by a whale and Ann receives a garbled phone call from him, she is determined to find that monstrous beast and rescue her son. Experts, her ex, the press—everyone thinks she’s crazy—but she’s committed to her worthy quest.

As Rose Andrews steps into the world of flight attendants, she's thrilled to be part of an airborne family she never knew she needed. But amidst the camaraderie, an unexpected attraction takes flight, entangling her heart in unexpected turbulence.

The Earth is my Ant Farm, The Creational School gave it to me but I'm a bit bored with it now. A bigger boy threw a rock at it in the classroom and wiped out all my dinosaurs, I liked them. Now I'm stuck with the ants and they like to multiply. I have a favourite Ant, his name is Derek. This is about him, he likes to travel. He doesn't know how but I will tell him one day.

Nur wenige seiner Werke hielt Franz Kafka für so gelungen, dass sie der Nachwelt erhalten bleiben sollten. Der Landarzt gehört dazu. Der Arzt wird nachts zu einem Schwerkranken gerufen - so beginnt eine typisch kafkaeske Erzählung voller rätselhafter Ereignisse und Aussagen. So etwas konnte wirklich nur einer schreiben: Franz Kafka.

Als Blumfeld nach Hause kommt, findet er dort zwei kleine Bälle vor, die auf und ab springen. Von nun an begleiten sie ihn ständig; er kann sie nicht abschütteln, bis er sie in seinen Schrank einsperrt. Denn bei der Ausübung seines Berufes in der Wäschefabrik wären diese Bälle ja eher hinderlich... Skurril, absurd, Kafka.

Sergeant Elijah Dawson and Detective Isabella Kennedy go after a dedicated serial killer. The two have been consistently playing behind and in the dark for months. Several witnesses have different accounts of what the “Ice Prince/Princess” looks like. The Boston campus will be shook for the rest of its existence.

Un matin, Gregor Samsa se réveille transformé en insecte. Rejeté par sa famille, il se retrouve isolé et condamné à une vie de misère. Kafka explore l'aliénation, la solitude et l'absurdité de l'existence dans cette histoire poignante.

Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect and subsequently struggles to adjust to this new condition. In popular culture and adaptations of the novella, the insect is commonly depicted as a cockroach.

"Das Schloss" - Kafkas Romanfragment - wurde erst im Jahre 1926, also nach dem Tod des Autoren, veröffentlicht. In typisch kafkaesker Manier wird darin vom Landvermesser K. erzählt, dessen einzige Aufgabe im Leben die zu sein scheint, das Schloss zu erreichen - immerhin wurde er von dort bestellt. Doch dies stellt sich als unüberwindliche Aufgabe dar.

Before the clocks stopped, Narwhal Slotterfield was an ordinary basketball referee. He blew his whistle. He stretched the rules. He even had a girlfriend. But then the clock thing happened. Now it’s 7:23 p.m., Narwhal’s in a diner in the middle of the Great Plains, and now is all he’s got.

Evoking such classics as Elmer Gantry and The Day of the Locust, William Giraldi's About Face boldly transfers the perennial literary themes of celebrity, ambition, and obsession to twenty-first-century Boston. There we meet Val Face, a charismatic self-help guru who captivates multitudes with his uncanny ability to heal adherents using only the power of his words, the mysterious touch of his hands, and the transcendent beauty of his face.

Benjamin was never the sharpest tool in the shed. For as long as he can remember, he’s longed for adventure in far-away lands. But every day he wakes up in the same boring suburb, where nothing ever happens.

The Metamorphosis is a story about a man who wakes up transformed into a bug and the repercussions it has on his life and the people around him. What does it all mean? It is most probably an autobiography of how Kafka himself experienced early life living with his parents. Kafka describes how he endured his mother and father's financial and emotional exploitations, to the point of detaching from them and thereby ceasing to be their son (the real metamorphosis).

Before Derek Christian became the confused hero, pawn of the universe, and reluctant cosmic adventurer of the Intergalactic novels, he was a simple copywriter at a radio station in Atlanta, WRFA: Radio Free America. This story tells how his writer's block set off a domino effect of murder and cosmic intrigue as The Fear chases him to his breaking point, and how he manages to escape into a world not of his own making.

Size matters. Or at least it does to Ed, nitpicking quantity surveyor and captain of his local pub football team who has faked a business trip abroad to get some cheap plastic surgery. Ed intends to be even more of a man upon his return. But has he managed to keep this as secret as he thinks? Will this really be such a wonderful surprise for Fiona on their wedding night? And just who is this operation for anyway?

Due anni, otto mesi e ventotto notti. Il tempo in cui le regole del mondo si rovesciano e strani, inspiegabili fenomeni iniziano ad accadere sulla terra: un giardiniere dal passato tormentato si alza una mattina levitando, un disegnatore di fumetti si trova obbligato allo scontro con il suo personaggio più riuscito, in una sala del municipio viene trovata una neonata dai poteri soprannaturali, un compositore lancia inquietanti profezie, e una giovane e seducente cacciatrice d'oro viene assoldata per una guerra al di là di ogni immaginazione.

Ein Roman von Franz Kafka, gesprochen von Moritz Brendel. Im Mittelpunkt steht der Bankangestellte Josef K., gegen den ein Prozess anhängig ist. Das Gericht agiert im Geheimen, und bis zu seiner Hinrichtung erfährt K. nicht einmal den Grund der Anklage. Ort der Handlung ist eine fiktive deutsche Großstadt. Die Zeit der Handlung stimmt mit ihrer Entstehungszeit überein. Dennoch, die Welt, die er erschaffen hat, scheint weniger als andere literarische Welten an Zeit und Raum gebunden, obwohl sie fest in realistischer Schilderung fundiert ist und von dort immer wieder ins scheinbar Phantastische schweift.

Five mommies are just one misstep away from entry into the elite Pacific Heights Moms & Tots Club. Everyone has a scandalous secret to hide, but who will be the next to fall? With just four spots remaining, will the five remaining ladies turn cutthroat? Or will their newfound friendships be strong enough to help them band together?