The Pigeon follows in the literary tradition of Franz Kafka (1883-1924).

Characteristic of his work is that tension established between two worlds, one represented in naturalistic detail and another that is illogical, subjective, and threatening. The transition from the one world to the other is achieved in a simple line of text. The initial sentence of The Metamorphosis (1948; Die Verwandlung, 1912) introduces Gregor Samsa suddenly to nightmarish reality when he awakens in bed to find himself transformed into a giant insect.

Similarly the existence of Joseph K. is turned about upon his arrest in The Trial (1937; Der Prozess, 1925). Suskind achieves the transition suddenly in the first line reading, "At the time the pigeon affair overtook him, unhinging his life from one day to the next, Jonathan Noel ... "