After
The Giver of Stars
Jojo Moyes2019
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Guncle
Steven Rowley2021
A former sitcom star takes in his niece and nephew for the summer after a family tragedy, navigating grief through humor and palm springs life.
Same warm register, still found family
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
The Paris Novel
Ruth Reichl2024
An estranged daughter travels to 1980s Paris after her mother's death. She explores the city's food and art scenes to find herself.
Same warm register, still found family
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Henna Artist
Alka Joshi2020
In 1950s Jaipur, a henna artist struggles to maintain her independence while navigating the secrets of wealthy clients.
Same warm register, still historical
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak0
Still Me
Jojo Moyes2018
Louisa Clark moves to New York to work for a wealthy family. She navigates a long-distance relationship while adjusting to high society.
Same warm register, still fish out of water
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Abbi Waxman2019
A trivia-loving bookstore employee discovers she has a family she never knew. She must manage her introversion while navigating new relationships.
Same warm register, still found family
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → clinical, still historical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-1prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+2bleak+3
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.
warm → propulsive
pace0·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
warm → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
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.
warm → elegiac
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
warm → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+2
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
warm → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
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.
warm → sardonic
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
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.
warm → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
warm → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
Slower
- pace-2prose+2bleak+2
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.
warm → clinical, still historical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace-2prose+2bleak+1
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.
warm → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+3
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
warm → elegiac
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+2bleak+3
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
warm → bleak
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace-2prose+1bleak+2
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.
warm → elegiac
pace-2·prose+1·bleak+2
Heavier
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
The Lives of Others
Neel Mukherjee2014
A multi-generational family in 1960s Calcutta disintegrates while one grandson joins a violent Maoist insurgency. It tracks the family's collapse.
warm → bleak, still historical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+2bleak+3
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.
warm → bleak
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
warm → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace0prose+1bleak+3
Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood2003
A man survives a genetic apocalypse in a world of engineered creatures. He remembers his past with a scientist and the woman they both loved.
warm → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace-1prose+1bleak+3
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.
warm → bleak, still found family
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+3
