LitQueuelitqueue

After

Frog music

Emma Donoghue2014

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Pillars of the Earth

    Ken Follett1989

    The construction of a Gothic cathedral in 12th-century England spans decades of civil war, famine, and religious conflict.

    Same propulsive register, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Name of the Rose

    Umberto Eco1983

    A friar and his novice investigate a series of murders at an Italian monastery in 1327. Much of the text covers theological debate.

    propulsive → meditative, still historical mystery

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Amberes

    Roberto Bolaño2002

    A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.

    propulsive → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    propulsive → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    propulsive → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Artemis

    Andy Weir2017

    A porter and smuggler on a lunar colony takes a high-stakes sabotage job to pay off a debt. She uses technical knowledge to solve problems.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • To Sir Phillip, With Love

    Julia Quinn2003

    Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

    propulsive → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Housemaid's Secret

    Freida McFadden2023

    A housemaid with a criminal record takes a job for a wealthy couple. She becomes obsessed with the wife she is forbidden from seeing.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Behind Closed Doors

    B.A. Paris2016

    A woman is held captive by her husband in a high-security home. She must find a way to escape before her sister moves in with them.

    Same propulsive register

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Kiss the Girls

    James Patterson1995

    Detective Alex Cross tracks two serial killers operating on opposite coasts who are communicating and competing with one another.

    propulsive → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • A Month in the Country

    J. L. Carr1980

    A WWI veteran spends a summer in a quiet village restoring a medieval mural in a church. He reflects on his trauma while observing local life.

    propulsive → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

  • The miracle at Speedy Motors

    Alexander McCall Smith2008

    Mma Ramotswe helps a woman find her long-lost family in Botswana. The story follows small domestic complications and slow-paced investigations.

    propulsive → warm

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-2

  • Kolyma tales

    Varlam SHALAMOV1980

    Short stories documenting daily life and survival in a Soviet labor camp. The prose is detached and focuses on the physical reality of starvation.

    propulsive → clinical, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Hannibal Rising

    Thomas Harris2006

    In WWII Lithuania, young Hannibal Lecter survives the death of his family. He later hunts those responsible while studying medicine in France.

    propulsive → cold, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Affinity

    Sarah Waters1999

    A grieving socialite visits a medium in a Victorian women's prison. Their relationship develops through diary entries and clandestine meetings.

    propulsive → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Libra

    Don DeLillo1988

    A fictionalized biography of Lee Harvey Oswald. It follows his life and the CIA conspiracy that leads to the assassination of JFK.

    propulsive → eerie, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1