LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Passenger

Cormac McCarthy2022

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Aeneid

    Publius Vergilius Maro1990

    A Trojan warrior leads survivors across the Mediterranean to found a new civilization in Italy. The story is told in dactylic hexameter verse.

    Same elegiac register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Two for the dough

    Janet Evanovich1996

    An inexperienced bounty hunter tracks a man who jumped bail for shooting his friend. She competes with a vice cop to find him first.

    elegiac → playful, still mystery

    pace+1·prose-3·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

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Angels & Demons

    Dan Brown2000

    A symbologist and a scientist race through Rome to stop an ancient secret society from destroying the Vatican. It takes place over 24 hours.

    elegiac → propulsive, still mystery

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

  • Tell No One

    Harlan Coben2000

    A widower receives an email from his wife eight years after her murder. He flees the FBI to discover if she is still alive.

    elegiac → propulsive, still mystery

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

  • Ten Big Ones

    Janet Evanovich2004

    Stephanie Plum witnesses a gang hit and becomes a target herself. She balances the threat with her ongoing romantic indecision.

    elegiac → playful, still mystery

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

Slower

elegiac → meditative, still philosophical fiction

3 more ↓

  • 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·prose0·bleak-1

  • 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.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • 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.

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Havoc, in Its Third Year

    Ronan Bennett2004

    A magistrate in a 1630s English town tries to maintain order as religious extremism and plague take hold. The social fabric slowly dissolves.

    elegiac → bleak, still mystery

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

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

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1