LitQueuelitqueue

After

Candide

Voltaire

5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster

More like it

Same sardonic register, still satire

1 more ↓

  • The Restraint of Beasts

    Magnus Mills1998

    Three fence-builders travel across England while their accidents result in a series of casual, unacknowledged deaths.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+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.

    sardonic → playful

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

  • 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.

    sardonic → elegiac

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

To recover

sardonic → playful, still satire

3 more ↓

  • Factfulness

    Hans Rosling2018

    A data-driven look at global trends in poverty, health, and education. It uses statistics to correct common misconceptions about the world.

    sardonic → earnest

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Rich People Problems

    Kevin Kwan2017

    An extended family gathers in Singapore as their matriarch lies dying. They scheme against one another to inherit a massive estate.

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Wielding a Red Sword

    Piers Anthony1986

    An Indian prince avoids an arranged marriage by accepting the supernatural office of War. He wields a sword that draws him into a conflict in Hell.

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • A Fable

    William Faulkner1954

    During WWI, a French corporal leads a mutiny that halts the fighting. The narrative mirrors the events of the Passion of Christ.

    sardonic → meditative, still philosophical fiction

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1

  • In Search of Lost Time

    Marcel Proust2001

    A narrator examines his life through involuntary memories triggered by sensory experiences. It spans seven volumes of social observation.

    sardonic → meditative, still philosophical fiction

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Pale King

    David Foster Wallace2011

    An unfinished, experimental novel about the mundane daily operations of an IRS processing center in 1985 Illinois.

    Same sardonic register, still satire

    pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

Same sardonic register, still satire

3 more ↓

  • Schopenhauer's Telescope

    Gerard Donovan2003

    Two men stand over a grave in a war-torn village, debating history and philosophy. One is the prisoner digging; the other is his executioner.

    sardonic → tense, still philosophical fiction

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

    Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.

    sardonic → bleak

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2