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After

The Good Apprentice

Iris Murdoch1985

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction

1 more ↓

  • The Testament of Gideon Mack

    James Robertson2006

    A faithless Scottish minister falls into a ravine and survives, claiming the Devil rescued him. The story is presented as his found manuscript.

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Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    meditative → sardonic

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  • 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.

    meditative → propulsive

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  • 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.

    meditative → playful

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To recover

3 more ↓

  • And One Last Thing...

    Molly Harper2010

    After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.

    meditative → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Perfection

    R.L. Mathewson2011

    A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.

    meditative → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    meditative → playful

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Faster

3 more ↓

  • Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith2008

    A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.

    meditative → tense

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  • 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.

    meditative → propulsive

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  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    meditative → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

Same meditative register, still philosophical fiction

3 more ↓

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

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  • A Fable

    William Faulkner1954

    During WWI, a French corporal leads a mutiny that halts the fighting. The narrative mirrors the events of the Passion of Christ.

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  • In Search of Lost Time

    Marcel Proust2001

    A narrator examines his life through involuntary memories triggered by sensory experiences. It spans seven volumes of social observation.

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Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

    Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.

    meditative → bleak

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  • 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.

    meditative → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • 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.

    meditative → bleak

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