After
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell
Nadia Hashimi2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same earnest register, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak0
Before We Were Yours
Lisa Wingate2017
In 1939, five siblings are kidnapped and taken to a corrupt orphanage. Decades later, a woman discovers her family's connection to the home.
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Baker's Daughter
Sarah McCoy2012
A journalist in El Paso interviews a German baker about her life during WWII. The story moves between the 1940s and the present day.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Take My Hand
Dolen Perkins-Valdez2022
In 1973 Alabama, a Black nurse discovers her clinic is performing forced sterilizations on young girls. She fights for legal justice.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris2018
A Slovakian Jew is forced to tattoo identification numbers on fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. He uses his position to exchange jewels for food.
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1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Lilac Girls
Martha Hall Kelly2016
Three women—a New York socialite, a Polish resistance member, and a German doctor—cross paths during World War II.
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Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak+1
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
- 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.
earnest → playful, still literary fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
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.
earnest → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Don Quixote
Kathy Acker1986
A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.
earnest → sardonic
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
To recover
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
The 4-Hour Workweek
Timothy Ferriss2006
A guide to lifestyle design that explains how to automate a business and outsource life tasks to achieve a four-hour workweek.
earnest → wry
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Split Infinity
Piers Anthony1980
A man travels between a high-tech world of games and a parallel world of magic. He must master both systems to avoid being assassinated.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon
Kimberly Lemming2021
A spice trader saves a demon while intoxicated and joins his quest to kill a witch. The story features frequent sexual content and humor.
earnest → playful
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Stainless Steel Rat
Harry Harrison1961
A futuristic con man is caught by the Special Corps and forced to use his criminal skills to catch other lawbreakers.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace0prose-1bleak-2
Fantasy Lover
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
A Spartan warrior cursed to be a love-slave inside a book is summoned by a modern woman. She takes him into the world to live as a man.
Same earnest register
pace0·prose-1·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
earnest → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak0
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
earnest → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
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.
earnest → sardonic
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
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.
earnest → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
earnest → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
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.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
- 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.
earnest → playful, still literary fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+1bleak-1
Lila
Marilynne Robinson2014
A woman with a traumatic, nomadic past settles in a small Iowa town and marries a minister. She struggles to reconcile her history with his faith.
earnest → tender, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak+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.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-2prose+1bleak0
Rhine Journey
Ann Schlee1981
A middle-aged woman travels by steamer down the Rhine in 1851. She observes her family and internalizes a chance encounter with a man from her past.
earnest → meditative, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Nickel Boys
Colson Whitehead2019
A studious black teenager in 1960s Florida is sent to a brutal reform school where physical abuse is systemic.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison1970
A young Black girl in 1940s Ohio prays for blue eyes as a way to escape her reality. The narrative follows her family's collapse and trauma.
earnest → bleak, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Prophets
Robert Jones Jr.2021
Two enslaved men on a Mississippi plantation find refuge in their love for each other. Their relationship is threatened by a betrayal.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Deposition of Father McGreevy
Brian O'Doherty2000
A priest recounts the physical and moral decline of an isolated Irish village during a harsh winter in the 1940s.
earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry1995
Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.
earnest → bleak, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
