After
Dorian
Will Self2002
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-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.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Don Quixote
Kathy Acker1986
A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Purity
Jonathan Franzen2015
A young woman burdened by student debt searches for her father and joins an international whistleblowing organization. Multiple perspectives follow.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
The Siege of Krishnapur
J. G. Farrell1973
British residents in a 19th-century Indian outpost face a violent uprising. The story tracks the physical and social decay of the community.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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-1·prose0·bleak-1
To recover
sardonic → playful, still satire
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
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.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Year zero
Reid, Robert2012
Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace0prose-3bleak-3
Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom1994
A journalist reconnects with his dying college professor for weekly lessons on life. They discuss aging, regret, and love as the professor declines.
sardonic → tender
pace0·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
Play
Kylie Scott2014
A drummer for a famous rock band hires a woman to pose as his girlfriend to improve his public image. They live together to sell the lie.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
sardonic → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Shattered
Dean Koontz1973
A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.
sardonic → tense, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
Final Destination #1
Natasha Rhodes2005
After surviving a group tragedy, a group of people are hunted by death in the order they were originally meant to die.
sardonic → tense, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
Same sardonic register, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-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-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
sardonic → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
sardonic → clinical
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
sardonic → bleak
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
