After
All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak0
Euphoria
Lily King2014
Three anthropologists in 1930s New Guinea become entangled in a romantic triangle while studying local tribes. It is based on Margaret Mead's life.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead2019
A studious black teenager in 1960s Florida is sent to a brutal reform school where physical abuse is systemic.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Atonement
Ian McEwan2001
A young girl misinterprets an event in 1935, leading to a false accusation. The story follows the consequences across WWII and into the present.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie2006
Three characters navigate the Nigerian Civil War and the short-lived republic of Biafra. The story follows a houseboy, a twin, and an expatriate.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Hours
Michael Cunningham1998
Three generations of women, including Virginia Woolf, are linked across time by the novel Mrs. Dalloway and their experiences with suicide.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon1973
During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.
elegiac → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James2014
A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.
elegiac → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
elegiac → playful, still literary fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak+1
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
elegiac → bleak
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
elegiac → playful
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
pace0·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-2bleak-2
The Comfort Book
Matt Haig2021
A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.
elegiac → warm
pace-1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Odessa Sea
Clive Cussler2016
Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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+1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose0bleak0
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje1992
Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose0·bleak0
- pace-2prose0bleak-1
Lila
Marilynne Robinson2014
A woman with a traumatic, nomadic past settles in a small Iowa town and marries a minister. She struggles to reconcile her history with his faith.
elegiac → tender, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose0bleak0
Rhine Journey
Ann Schlee1981
A middle-aged woman travels by steamer down the Rhine in 1851. She observes her family and internalizes a chance encounter with a man from her past.
elegiac → meditative, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose0·bleak0
- pace-2prose0bleak0
Gathering the Water
Robert Edric2006
In 1840s Yorkshire, a man oversees the flooding of a valley for a reservoir. He records the final days of a village and its remaining residents.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose0·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
elegiac → playful, still literary fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead2019
A studious black teenager in 1960s Florida is sent to a brutal reform school where physical abuse is systemic.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison1970
A young Black girl in 1940s Ohio prays for blue eyes as a way to escape her reality. The narrative follows her family's collapse and trauma.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Prophets
Robert Jones Jr.2021
Two enslaved men on a Mississippi plantation find refuge in their love for each other. Their relationship is threatened by a betrayal.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Deposition of Father McGreevy
Brian O'Doherty2000
A priest recounts the physical and moral decline of an isolated Irish village during a harsh winter in the 1940s.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak+1
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry1995
Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1
