After
Streets of Laredo
Larry McMurtry1993
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
Same elegiac register, still western
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Legends of the fall
Jim Harrison1978
Three brothers in early 20th-century Montana navigate war, bootlegging, and a shared love for the same woman. It spans several decades.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Train Dreams
Denis Johnson2011
A laborer in the early 20th-century American West lives through the loss of his family and the arrival of the railroad.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Four Treasures of the Sky
Jenny Tinghui Zhang2022
A girl kidnapped from China is trafficked to the American West in the 1880s. She assumes multiple identities to survive racial violence.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-2
The Town
Conrad Richter1950
The final book of a trilogy follows Sayward Luckett as her frontier settlement transforms into an industrial town. It tracks the end of pioneer life.
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Long Long Way
Sebastian Barry2005
A young Irishman joins the British Army to fight in the trenches of World War I while his home country moves toward rebellion.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
elegiac → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Mirror and the Light
Hilary Mantel2020
Thomas Cromwell navigates the final four years of his life in Henry VIII's court. He attempts to maintain power as his allies and influence erode.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
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.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Death by Darjeeling
Laura Childs2001
Theodosia Browning hosts a tea party where a guest is poisoned. She must find the killer among the local socialites of Charleston.
elegiac → warm
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
elegiac → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
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The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak-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·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → clinical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
elegiac → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
