After
Disgrace
J. M. Coetzee1999
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The North Water
Ian McGuire2016
A disgraced surgeon joins a whaling expedition where a psychopathic harpooner commits a murder. The crew becomes trapped in the Arctic ice.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Comfort of Strangers
Ian McEwan1981
A bored couple vacationing in Venice is befriended by a local man and his wife. The encounters become increasingly invasive and physically violent.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Driver's Seat
Muriel Spark1970
Lise travels to a foreign city to find someone to kill her. The narrative follows her erratic behavior as she searches for her own murderer.
Same cold register
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Be Near Me
Andrew O'Hagan2006
An Oxford-educated priest moves to a working-class Scottish parish. His attempts to connect with local youths lead to a public scandal.
cold → elegiac, still fall from grace
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller1940
An aging salesman loses his grip on reality as his professional and family life collapse. It is a play about the failure of the American Dream.
cold → elegiac, still fall from grace
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+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.
cold → sardonic
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+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.
cold → propulsive
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+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.
cold → playful
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Briefing for a Descent into Hell
Doris Lessing1971
A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.
cold → dreamlike
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
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.
cold → earnest
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Neon Gods
Katee Robert2021
In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.
cold → tense
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Starter Villain
John Scalzi2023
A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.
cold → wry
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Playing with Fire
Gena Showalter2006
A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.
cold → playful
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Digital Fortress
Dan Brown1998
The NSA's code-breaking supercomputer encounters an unbreakable algorithm. A cryptographer and a professor race to find the kill code.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-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.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-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.
cold → tense
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-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.
cold → sardonic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-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.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-2prose+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.
cold → playful
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+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.
cold → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
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.
cold → clinical
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
cold → bleak
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-2prose0bleak-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.
cold → elegiac
pace-2·prose0·bleak-1
