The Lost Girls of Paris

The Four Winds

Kristin Hannah2021

A woman marries into a farming family before the Dust Bowl begins. She struggles to survive poverty and environmental collapse in the 1930s.

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

earnest → propulsive, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+2·bleak+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.

earnest → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Briefing for a Descent into Hell

Doris Lessing1971

A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.

earnest → dreamlike

pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

Warrior Rising

P.C. Cast2008

Goddesses transport a modern woman to ancient Troy to seduce and distract Achilles. It is a lighthearted fish-out-of-water romance.

earnest → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Big Magic

Elizabeth Gilbert2015

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

earnest → warm

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Wielding a Red Sword

Piers Anthony1986

An Indian prince avoids an arranged marriage by accepting the supernatural office of War. He wields a sword that draws him into a conflict in Hell.

earnest → playful

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Protect and Defend

Vince Flynn2007

CIA operative Mitch Rapp travels to the Middle East to prevent Iranian retaliation after an Israeli strike. He works to stop a terrorist plot.

earnest → propulsive, still espionage

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Use of force

Brad Thor2017

Navy SEAL Scot Harvath is hired to track a missing terrorist after a body washes up in Italy. He works outside the law to stop a summer attack.

earnest → propulsive, still espionage

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

Warriors

Ted Bell2014

Spy Alex Hawke attempts to rescue a kidnapped scientist while the United States and China move toward nuclear war.

earnest → propulsive, still espionage

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-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.

earnest → playful

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-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.

earnest → clinical

pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Translated Accounts

James Kelman2001

Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.

earnest → bleak

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

The Known World

Edward P. Jones2003

A black man who was once a slave becomes a slave owner in antebellum Virginia. The story follows the fallout on the plantation after his death.

earnest → meditative, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

A Long Long Way

Sebastian Barry2005

A young Irishman joins the British Army to fight in the trenches of World War I while his home country moves toward rebellion.

earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1