After
Book of Doors
David Ralph Williams2017
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
Same elegiac register, still literary
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The Spinning Heart
Donal Ryan2001
Twenty-one different narrators describe the aftermath of the Irish financial crash in a small town. The story centers on a local construction boss.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
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The Labyrinth of Solitude
Octavio Paz1961
A series of essays examining the Mexican identity, history, and psyche through the lens of solitude and cultural rituals.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
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A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Anthony Marra2013
A doctor in war-torn Chechnya hides a young girl whose father was abducted. The story spans five days while flashing back over fifteen years.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
The time keeper
Mitch Albom2011
The inventor of the first clock is released from a cave to help two people in the modern world. He teaches them the value of their remaining time.
elegiac → earnest, still magical realism
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
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Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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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+2·prose-3·bleak-2
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Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
elegiac → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
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The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
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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+2·prose-3·bleak-2
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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+2·prose-2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
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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+2·prose-2·bleak-1
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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+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Slower
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A Passage North
Anuk Arudpragasam2021
Krishan travels by train from Colombo to a funeral in northern Sri Lanka. He spends the journey reflecting on a past love and the civil war.
elegiac → meditative, still literary
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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
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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 unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
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Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
elegiac → clinical
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
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My Brilliant Friend
Chiara Lagani2023
A graphic novel adaptation of Elena Ferrante's story about two girls growing up in a poor neighborhood in 1950s Naples.
Same elegiac register, still literary
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
Heavier
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Bewilderment
Richard Powers2021
An astrobiologist uses experimental neurofeedback to treat his son's emotional outbursts while they mourn the boy's mother.
Same elegiac register, still literary
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The Road
Cormac McCarthy2006
A father and son walk through a landscape of ash and scavengers toward the coast. They carry only what fits in a shopping cart.
elegiac → bleak, still literary
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
elegiac → bleak, still magical realism
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
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Ironweed
William Kennedy1983
A homeless alcoholic returns to Albany in 1938. He encounters the ghosts of his past while trying to find a day of work and reconciliation.
Same elegiac register, still magical realism
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
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The Summer that Melted Everything
Tiffany McDaniel2016
A boy claiming to be the devil arrives in a small Ohio town during a 1984 heatwave. His presence triggers a series of local tragedies.
Same elegiac register, still magical realism
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
