The Mountains Sing

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee2017

Four generations of a Korean family navigate life in Japan as immigrants. It begins with a teenaged girl's unplanned pregnancy in 1910.

pace-1·prose0·bleak0

The Argonauts

Maggie Nelson2015

A memoir of the author's relationship with her partner and her pregnancy. It mixes personal narrative with academic theory on gender and family.

elegiac → meditative

pace-1·prose+2·bleak-2

Doktor Faustus

Thomas Mann1948

A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

Confessions

Augustine of Hippo

A 4th-century bishop writes a spiritual autobiography addressed to God. He recounts his sinful youth and his eventual conversion to Christianity.

elegiac → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

To Sir Phillip, With Love

Julia Quinn2003

Eloise Bridgerton travels to meet a widowed baronet she has only known through letters. They consider a marriage of convenience.

elegiac → warm

pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Everything Beautiful in Its Time

Jenna Bush Hager2020

The author reflects on the lives and deaths of her grandparents, including a former President and First Lady. It is a series of personal essays.

elegiac → warm

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Love Comes Softly

Janette Oke1979

A widow on the 19th-century frontier enters a marriage of convenience with a widower to survive the winter and care for his daughter.

elegiac → tender

pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

elegiac → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Steal Like an Artist

Austin Kleon2012

A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

elegiac → playful

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Poke the Box

Seth Godin2011

A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

elegiac → earnest

pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Either/Or

Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

elegiac → meditative

pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Doktor Faustus

Thomas Mann1948

A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

Same elegiac register, still historical fiction

pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

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-2·prose+2·bleak+1

The Painted Bird

Jerzy Kosiński1965

A young boy wanders through Eastern Europe during World War II, encountering extreme cruelty and superstition in rural villages.

elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

Mila 18

Leon Uris1961

Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto organize an armed uprising against Nazi occupiers during World War II.

elegiac → propulsive, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

Tadeusz Borowski1967

Short stories based on the author's time in Auschwitz. The narrator describes the daily logistics of the Holocaust with detached indifference.

elegiac → cold, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1