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Life After Life

Kate Atkinson2013

6 of 6 directions open

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  • Black Dog

    Dave McKean2016

    A graphic novel depicting the life and hallucinations of surrealist painter Paul Nash during the First World War.

    elegiac → dreamlike, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Death’s Master

    Tanith Lee1979

    The Lord of Death intervenes in the lives of mortals who seek immortality or revenge. The prose is stylized and the structure is mythic.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Dragon and the Unicorn

    A. A. Attanasio1994

    A celestial being takes human form to engineer the birth of King Arthur. The narrative spans centuries and involves gods, demons, and atoms.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Endless Things

    John Crowley2007

    A scholar travels to Europe to find a secret history of magic hidden within real-world myths. This is the conclusion of a four-book cycle.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

elegiac → playful

3 more ↓

  • It Starts with Us

    Colleen Hoover2022

    A single mother navigates a new relationship with her first love while managing a jealous ex-husband. The story alternates perspectives.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Assistant to the Villain

    Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023

    A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Marriage Bargain

    Jennifer Probst2012

    A bookstore owner enters a one-year contract marriage with a billionaire to save her family's land. They must follow a set of rules to stay platonic.

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Mind's Eye

    Douglas E. Richards2014

    A man discovers he has the ability to access the internet and process data directly with his mind. He is hunted by a secret organization.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Atlantis Gene

    A.G. Riddle2013

    A geneticist and a counter-terrorism agent uncover a global conspiracy involving human evolution and an ancient Antarctic discovery.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Monster Hunter International

    Larry Correia2007

    An accountant kills his boss, who has become a werewolf, and is recruited by a private company that hunts monsters for government bounties.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Among Others

    Jo Walton2011

    A teenage girl at a 1970s boarding school copes with her twin's death through books and subtle magic. It is written as a series of diary entries.

    elegiac → tender

    pace-2·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Tehanu

    Ursula K. Le Guin1990

    A widow cares for an aging mage who has lost his magic. The story focuses on domestic life and the aftermath of past adventures.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-2·prose0·bleak-1

  • Little, Big

    John Crowley1981

    A man marries into a family living in a massive house where the borders of the natural world blur. It follows several generations over a century.

    elegiac → dreamlike

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Was

    Geoff Ryman1992

    Three timelines connect a Kansas girl in the 1880s, Judy Garland on set, and a dying man in the 1980s. It examines the reality behind the Oz myth.

    Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

  • A Fine Balance

    Rohinton Mistry1995

    Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.

    elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • The Confessions of Nat Turner

    William Styron1967

    A fictionalized confession of the leader of an 1831 slave revolt while he awaits execution in a Virginia jail cell.

    elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak+1