After
His Bloody Project
Graeme Macrae Burnet2016
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Spies
Michael Frayn2002
An elderly man recalls a summer in WWII London when he and a friend spied on a mother they suspected of being a German agent.
cold → elegiac, still historical
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
History of Wolves
Emily Fridlund2017
A lonely teenager in the Minnesota woods becomes obsessed with a new family and their young son. She observes a tragedy she might have prevented.
Same cold register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Girl in White Cotton
Avni Doshi2020
A woman in Pune cares for her mother, who is losing her memory to dementia. She recounts their toxic history and her mother's time in an ashram.
Same cold register, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro1989
An elderly butler takes a motoring trip through the English countryside while reflecting on his service to a disgraced lord before World War II.
cold → elegiac, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Ottessa Moshfegh2018
A wealthy New Yorker attempts to sleep for an entire year using a cocktail of prescription drugs to reset her life.
cold → sardonic, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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, still historical
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace+1prose+2bleak+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.
cold → propulsive, still crime
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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, still unreliable narrator
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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-1·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries
Emily Brightwell1993
A Victorian housekeeper and her staff secretly solve crimes for their employer, a clueless Scotland Yard inspector.
cold → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Fast & loose
Stuart Woods2017
Wealthy investigator Stone Barrington deals with a hostile family after a boating accident. He manages legal and financial assets in Maine.
cold → playful, still crime
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
Ghost Ship
Clive Cussler2014
Kurt Austin survives a yacht sinking but suffers from conflicting memories. He investigates a global cybercrime conspiracy to find the truth.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Killer Blonde
Laura Levine2004
A freelance writer investigates a murder in the Hamptons after a socialite is killed. She balances the case with her work for a demanding boss.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Two for the dough
Janet Evanovich1996
An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
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+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Gone
James Patterson2013
A drug lord escapes prison and hunts Detective Michael Bennett, who is hiding in the California woods with his ten children.
cold → propulsive, still crime
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Extreme Prey
John Sandford2016
While working on a presidential campaign, Lucas Davenport tracks an armed man planning to assassinate the governor.
cold → propulsive, still crime
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Run Away
Harlan Coben2019
A father searches for his estranged, drug-addicted daughter in New York. The search uncovers a conspiracy involving a cult and multiple murders.
cold → propulsive, still crime
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose0bleak0
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+2·prose0·bleak0
Slower
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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, still historical
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
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-1·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
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-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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-1·prose+1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose+2bleak+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.
cold → propulsive, still crime
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Lives of Others
Neel Mukherjee2014
A multi-generational family in 1960s Calcutta disintegrates while one grandson joins a violent Maoist insurgency. It tracks the family's collapse.
cold → bleak, still historical
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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.
cold → bleak
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
cold → bleak
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
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.
cold → sardonic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
