After
Not so quiet
Helen Zenna Smith1930
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
sardonic → bleak, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
An Insular Possession
Timothy Mo1986
Two American journalists witness the First Opium War in 19th-century Canton. The story is told through letters, newspaper articles, and reports.
Same sardonic register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Storyteller
Jodi Picoult2013
A baker befriends an elderly man who reveals he was an SS guard and asks her to kill him. The story moves between the present and the Holocaust.
sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The absolutist
John Boyne2011
A veteran visits his deceased friend's sister in 1919 to return letters. He recounts their relationship and a secret from the trenches.
sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Painted Girls
Cathy Marie Buchanan2013
Three sisters in 1870s Paris struggle with poverty. One becomes a ballet dancer and poses for Edgar Degas while another falls into crime.
sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak-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 historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+2bleak0
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.
sardonic → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak0
The Wake
Paul Kingsnorth2014
A landowner in 1066 leads a guerrilla resistance against Norman invaders. The story is written in a modified version of Old English.
sardonic → bleak, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak-1
Beloved
Toni Morrison1987
A mother in post-Civil War Ohio is haunted by the ghost of the daughter she killed to spare from slavery. The prose is dense and non-linear.
sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → earnest
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-3
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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
On Dublin Street
Samantha Young2012
An American woman in Scotland enters a sex-only arrangement with her roommate's brother to avoid emotional intimacy. It is a contemporary romance.
sardonic → warm
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
sardonic → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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-1·bleak-3
- pace+2prose0bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
sardonic → tense
pace+2·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose0bleak-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
pace+2·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
sardonic → wry
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-3
Slower
sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-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·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+2bleak-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·prose+2·bleak-1
