After
The Ghost Road
Pat Barker1995
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan2014
A surgeon in a Japanese POW camp during the construction of the Death Railway is haunted by a past affair. It covers fifty years of his life.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Tree of Smoke
Denis Johnson2007
An ensemble cast navigate the Vietnam War through CIA operations and ground combat. The narrative spans years and multiple countries.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Shadow King
Maaza Mengiste2019
During the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia, female soldiers organize to defend their country. It follows an orphan serving a general's wife.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Gift of Rain
Tan Twan Eng2007
In 1939 Malaya, a young man is trained by a Japanese diplomat. When war begins, he must choose between his family and his sense of loyalty.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Confederates
Thomas Keneally1979
The story follows a group of Confederate soldiers and civilians during the Antietam campaign of the American Civil War.
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.
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+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.
elegiac → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- 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
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.
elegiac → 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.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
On a Pale Horse
Piers Anthony1983
After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- 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.
elegiac → 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.
elegiac → playful
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
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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