After
One Two Three
Laurie Frankel2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
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The Silver Star
Jeannette Walls2013
Two sisters move to their uncle's decaying Virginia mansion after their mother leaves. They navigate 1970s small-town life and adult negligence.
Same earnest register, still coming of age
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- pace0prose0bleak0
True Biz
Sara Nović2022
Students and teachers navigate a residential school for the Deaf. The book includes diagrams of sign language and history of Deaf culture.
Same earnest register, still coming of age
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Beartown
Fredrik Backman2017
A small Swedish town pins its hopes on a junior hockey team until a violent act involving the star player divides the community.
Same earnest register, still contemporary
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Dear Edward
Ann Napolitano2020
A twelve-year-old boy is the only survivor of a commercial plane crash. The story follows his recovery and his life with his aunt and uncle.
earnest → tender, still coming of age
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Bottle Rocket Hearts
Zoe Whittall2007
An eighteen-year-old girl navigates her first queer relationship against the backdrop of the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum.
Same earnest register, still coming of age
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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.
earnest → sardonic
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner1929
The decline of a Southern family told through four perspectives, including a non-linear stream of consciousness from a man with a disability.
earnest → elegiac
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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.
earnest → dreamlike
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
The Identicals
Elin Hilderbrand2017
Estranged identical twin sisters swap lives on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard to handle a family crisis and repair their relationship.
earnest → warm, still contemporary
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-1
Better Off Dead
Lee Child2021
Jack Reacher investigates a staged car crash in Arizona and infiltrates a dangerous local crew to find a missing woman.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → playful
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- 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.
earnest → tense
pace+2·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose0bleak0
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.
earnest → sardonic
pace+2·prose0·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
earnest → wry
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong2019
A son writes a letter to his illiterate mother, recounting his family's history in Vietnam and his own experiences growing up in America.
earnest → elegiac, still coming of age
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
earnest → elegiac
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.
earnest → clinical
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
earnest → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara2015
Four friends in New York over thirty years. One of them is being destroyed, and the book does not look away.
earnest → bleak, still contemporary
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Shuggie Bain
Douglas Stuart2020
A young boy grows up in 1980s Glasgow public housing. He tries to support his mother as she struggles with severe alcoholism and poverty.
earnest → bleak, still coming of age
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
Betty
Tiffany McDaniel2020
A girl grows up in the foothills of the Appalachians in a family marked by poverty and secrets. She writes her stories to survive her reality.
earnest → elegiac, still coming of age
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- pace0prose+2bleak+2
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.
earnest → bleak
pace0·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
earnest → bleak
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+2
