After
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
3 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner1929
The decline of a Southern family told through four perspectives, including a non-linear stream of consciousness from a man with a disability.
Same elegiac register, still southern gothic
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Sea
John Banville2005
A widower returns to a coastal resort to reflect on a childhood summer and his wife's death. The narrator's memory is fluid and dense.
Same elegiac register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak0
The Wake
Paul Kingsnorth2014
A landowner in 1066 leads a guerrilla resistance against Norman invaders. The story is written in a modified version of Old English.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Sophie’s Choice
William Styron1979
A young writer moves into a Brooklyn boarding house and befriends a Holocaust survivor and her volatile lover. He slowly learns of her past.
Same elegiac register, still southern gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Testament of Mary
Colm Tóibín2012
Mary lives in exile years after her son's crucifixion. She recounts the events leading to his death while refusing to validate the Gospel accounts.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
To recover
elegiac → propulsive
- pace+3prose-3bleak-3
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
elegiac → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-3bleak-3
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
Real Murders
Charlaine Harris1990
A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+3prose-3bleak-3
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
elegiac → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-2bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
elegiac → tense
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
Candide
Voltaire
A naive young man travels the world while his tutor insists that everything is for the best. He encounters a series of global catastrophes.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-3bleak-3
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-3bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-3
