LitQueuelitqueue

After

Clear Light of Day

Anita Desai1980

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Illuminations

    Andrew O'Hagan2015

    A retired documentary photographer with failing memory shares her secrets with her grandson, a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan.

    Same elegiac register, still family saga

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+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

    pace+1·prose+1·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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Best Man

    Kristan Higgins2013

    A woman returns to her family winery years after a public wedding disaster. She begins a relationship with the man who helped end her engagement.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Forever Too Far

    Abbi Glines2013

    Rush and Blaire navigate a surprise pregnancy and family secrets in the final installment of their trilogy.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Where I Belong

    J. Daniels2014

    Mia returns to her small town and has a one-night stand with a man she hates. They navigate their mutual dislike while living in close proximity.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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-1·bleak0

  • 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-2·bleak-1

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    elegiac → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • 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·prose+1·bleak+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-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Heavier

elegiac → bleak, still family saga

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace0·prose+1·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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • Oryx and Crake

    Margaret Atwood2003

    A man survives a genetic apocalypse in a world of engineered creatures. He remembers his past with a scientist and the woman they both loved.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2