LitQueuelitqueue

After

The Road

Cormac McCarthy2006

4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Vilnius Poker

    Ričardas Gavelis2014

    Four narrators describe life in Soviet-occupied Vilnius. The city is depicted as a living, malevolent entity that traps and corrupts its citizens.

    Same bleak register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

To recover

bleak → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

    A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

    bleak → wry

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3

  • The Comfort Book

    Matt Haig2021

    A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.

    bleak → warm

    pace0·prose-3·bleak-3

  • On a Pale Horse

    Piers Anthony1983

    After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Hell Divers

    Nicholas Sansbury Smith2016

    Skydivers jump from massive airships to a ruined Earth to scavenge parts for humanity's survival. One team is stranded in a hostile zone.

    bleak → tense, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

  • The Walking Dead, Book Six

    Robert Kirkman2010

    Survivors of a zombie plague attempt to build a community in a fortified neighborhood. The focus is on group politics and interpersonal conflict.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

  • 28 Days Later

    Alex Garland2002

    A man wakes from a coma to find London deserted and overrun by humans infected with a rage virus. He joins a small group of survivors.

    Same bleak register, still post-apocalyptic

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    bleak → clinical

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

  • Translated Accounts

    James Kelman2001

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

    Same bleak register

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • A Passage North

    Anuk Arudpragasam2021

    Krishan travels by train from Colombo to a funeral in northern Sri Lanka. He spends the journey reflecting on a past love and the civil war.

    bleak → meditative, still literary

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1