After
Andersonville
MacKinlay Kantor1955
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Tree of Smoke
Denis Johnson2007
An ensemble cast navigate the Vietnam War through CIA operations and ground combat. The narrative spans years and multiple countries.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-2
Guard of Honor
James Gould Cozzens1948
Over three days at a Florida airbase in 1943, a general manages administrative crises, racial tensions, and a parachute accident.
bleak → clinical, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan2014
A surgeon in a Japanese POW camp during the construction of the Death Railway is haunted by a past affair. It covers fifty years of his life.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Ghost Road
Pat Barker1995
During the final months of WWI, an officer returns to the front while his doctor reflects on the war. It concludes the Regeneration Trilogy.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Confessions of Nat Turner
William Styron1967
A fictionalized confession of the leader of an 1831 slave revolt while he awaits execution in a Virginia jail cell.
Same bleak register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
bleak → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
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.
bleak → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
Same bleak register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
bleak → playful
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
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.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
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.
bleak → warm
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
bleak → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
bleak → sardonic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
A Month in the Country
J. L. Carr1980
A WWI veteran spends a summer in a quiet village restoring a medieval mural in a church. He reflects on his trauma while observing local life.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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.
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
bleak → tender, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
