Animal, Vegetal, Marginal explores the oft-forgotten yet provocative German genre of die Groteske, or the literary grotesque. This short prose form challenges the norms of being human and being accepted as such by society in exaggerated and satirical ways. Between the Kaiser's and Hitler's Reichs, the genre's irreverent comedy and criticism sold out cabarets, drew droves of radio listeners, and created bestsellers.

Yet, because its authors were ruthlessly censored and persecuted, die Groteske is virtually unknown today and neglected by scholarship. Joela Jacobs examines the development and influence of the genre on some of its leading exponents, including Oskar Panizza, Hanns Heinz Ewers, Salomo Friedlaender, and Franz Kafka.

Animal, Vegetal, Marginal is the first full-length study of the genre and shows how its portrayals of marginalized and nonhuman perspectives mounted resistance against the rise of the biopolitical structures underpinning nationalism, racism, and antisemitism.