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After

The Blazing World

Siri Hustvedt2014

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same sardonic register, still psychological fiction

1 more ↓

  • The Book of Evidence

    John Banville1989

    A cultured man in prison recounts the theft of a painting and the impulsive murder of a maid. He explains his actions through a cold, detached lens.

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Vivisector

    Patrick White1970

    A painter uses the people in his life as raw material for his art. He observes their flaws and suffering to translate them onto canvas.

    sardonic → cold, still psychological fiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Book of Evidence

    John Banville1989

    A cultured man in prison recounts the theft of a painting and the impulsive murder of a maid. He explains his actions through a cold, detached lens.

    Same sardonic register, still psychological fiction

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

sardonic → playful

3 more ↓

  • Big Magic

    Elizabeth Gilbert2015

    The author shares her philosophy on the creative process through personal anecdotes. It focuses on overcoming fear and pursuing curiosity.

    sardonic → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Year zero

    Reid, Robert2012

    Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers

    Lois P. Frankel

    A career coach lists 101 behaviors women use in the workplace that may hinder their advancement. Each entry provides a specific tip for change.

    sardonic → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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·prose-1·bleak-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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    sardonic → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • February

    Lisa Moore2009

    A widow in Newfoundland moves between her quiet daily routines and the memory of her husband's death on a sunken oil rig decades earlier.

    sardonic → elegiac, still psychological fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • The Wilderness

    Samantha Harvey2009

    An architect with Alzheimer's attempts to reconstruct his life story. The narrative fragments as his memory and sense of time dissolve.

    sardonic → elegiac, still psychological fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • The Next Big Thing

    Anita Brookner2002

    A seventy-three-year-old man in London contemplates his few remaining options for the future. He considers travel, marriage, and his isolation.

    sardonic → meditative, still psychological fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Lighthouse

    Alison Moore2012

    A recently separated man takes a walking tour of Germany while reflecting on his childhood abandonment and his failing marriage.

    sardonic → bleak, still psychological fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The White Hotel

    D. M. Thomas1981

    A woman's life is told through poems, a Freudian case study, and a narrative. It moves from her sexual fantasies to her death in the Holocaust.

    sardonic → dreamlike, still psychological fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • My Dark Vanessa

    Kate Elizabeth Russell2020

    Vanessa reflects on her teenage relationship with a teacher after he is accused of abuse. The narrative shifts between 2000 and 2017.

    sardonic → bleak, still psychological fiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1