After
The rape poems
Frances Driscoll1997
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing slower
More like it
Same elegiac register
- pace0prose0bleak-1
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.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong2019
A son writes a letter to his illiterate mother, recounting his family's history in Vietnam and his own experiences growing up in America.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
A Death in the Family
James Agee1957
A father dies in a car accident in 1915 Tennessee. The prose focuses on the immediate sensory details and the family's reaction to the loss.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Blackouts
Justin Torres2023
A young man cares for a dying elder in a medical facility. They use a 1930s study on homosexuality to reconstruct their personal histories.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson1980
Two sisters grow up in an isolated Idaho town under the care of their transient aunt. The prose focuses on memory and the nature of loss.
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak-1
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.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose+1bleak0
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+2·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
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
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner1929
The decline of a Southern family told through four perspectives, including a non-linear stream of consciousness from a man with a disability.
Same elegiac register
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace+1prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → dreamlike
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
Pillow Thoughts
Courtney Peppernell2016
A collection of short poems and prose pieces organized by emotional state. It focuses on themes of heartbreak, healing, and loneliness.
elegiac → tender, still poetry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
elegiac → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
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.
elegiac → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
elegiac → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+3prose-2bleak-2
The Sun and Her Flowers
Rupi Kaur2017
A collection of short, illustrated poems organized into five stages of growth. It covers themes of loss, trauma, and self-healing.
elegiac → earnest, still poetry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
Pillow Thoughts
Courtney Peppernell2016
A collection of short poems and prose pieces organized by emotional state. It focuses on themes of heartbreak, healing, and loneliness.
elegiac → tender, still poetry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
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.
elegiac → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-1bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
elegiac → tense
pace+3·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-1bleak-2
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.
elegiac → sardonic
pace+3·prose-1·bleak-2
