After
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison1970
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Flamethrowers
Rachel Kushner2013
A woman moves to the 1970s New York art scene before traveling to Italy during a period of radical political unrest. She navigates love and speed.
bleak → sardonic, still literary fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Brotherless Night
V. V. Ganeshananthan2023
A young woman in Sri Lanka tries to study medicine while her brothers join militant groups during the civil war. It covers a decade of conflict.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Fools crow
James Welch1986
A young Blackfeet man in the 1870s seeks status through raids and visions. He watches his culture change as white settlers and disease arrive.
bleak → elegiac, still literary fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Sixty Lights
Gail Jones2004
Lucy Strange grows up in the late 1800s and discovers the new technology of photography. The story follows her from Australia to London and India.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Ruby in Her Navel
Barry Unsworth2006
In 12th-century Sicily, a young man works in the king's finance office amid religious tension. He uncovers a plot while seeking his own knighthood.
bleak → meditative, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
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.
bleak → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- 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.
bleak → playful, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- 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.
bleak → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- 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.
bleak → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Don Quixote
Kathy Acker1986
A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.
bleak → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → warm
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Honeysuckle Summer
Sherryl Woods2010
A woman with severe anxiety and agoraphobia after an abusive marriage finds support from a local deputy. He helps her re-enter the world.
bleak → warm
pace0·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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
- 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.
bleak → elegiac, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
Lila
Marilynne Robinson2014
A woman with a traumatic, nomadic past settles in a small Iowa town and marries a minister. She struggles to reconcile her history with his faith.
bleak → tender, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Rhine Journey
Ann Schlee1981
A middle-aged woman travels by steamer down the Rhine in 1851. She observes her family and internalizes a chance encounter with a man from her past.
bleak → meditative, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Gathering the Water
Robert Edric2006
In 1840s Yorkshire, a man oversees the flooding of a valley for a reservoir. He records the final days of a village and its remaining residents.
bleak → elegiac, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose0·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.
bleak → playful, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2