“Kafkaesque” refers to situations of nightmarish alienation and confusion caused by inhuman bureaucracies and the powerlessness of the individual caught up in something they do not understand. Especially Kafkaesque are those instances in which the authorities use heavy-handed means to enforce ill-defined and seemingly incoherent laws, “supported” by sectors of the community cheerleading draconian crackdowns and informing on their fellow citizens.
Franz Kafka’s own work, however, is …