After
The Shadow King
Maaza Mengiste2019
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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Run me to earth
Paul Yoon2020
Three orphans navigate the aftermath of the Secret War in Laos, following their lives across decades and continents.
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A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Anthony Marra2013
A doctor in war-torn Chechnya hides a young girl whose father was abducted. The story spans five days while flashing back over fifteen years.
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The Gift of Rain
Tan Twan Eng2007
In 1939 Malaya, a young man is trained by a Japanese diplomat. When war begins, he must choose between his family and his sense of loyalty.
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Confederates
Thomas Keneally1979
The story follows a group of Confederate soldiers and civilians during the Antietam campaign of the American Civil War.
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1 more ↓ ↑
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Michael Chabon2000
Two Jewish cousins in New York create a comic book superhero during the Golden Age of comics. It spans from WWII-era Prague to the 1950s.
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Denser prose
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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, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
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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, still historical fiction
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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-1·prose+1·bleak+1
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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.
elegiac → sardonic
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Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
elegiac → bleak
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
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+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
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On Dublin Street
Samantha Young2012
An American woman in Scotland enters a sex-only arrangement with her roommate's brother to avoid emotional intimacy. It is a contemporary romance.
elegiac → warm
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- pace+1prose-2bleak-2
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
elegiac → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace0prose-2bleak-2
Honeysuckle Summer
Sherryl Woods2010
A woman with severe anxiety and agoraphobia after an abusive marriage finds support from a local deputy. He helps her re-enter the world.
elegiac → warm
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Faster
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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+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-1bleak0
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
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3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
elegiac → sardonic
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- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
elegiac → propulsive
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- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
Slower
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+1bleak+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.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
A Month in the Country
J. L. Carr1980
A WWI veteran spends a summer in a quiet village restoring a medieval mural in a church. He reflects on his trauma while observing local life.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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.
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
elegiac → playful
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- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
elegiac → tender, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
Heavier
- pace0prose0bleak+1
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan2014
A surgeon in a Japanese POW camp during the construction of the Death Railway is haunted by a past affair. It covers fifty years of his life.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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- pace0prose0bleak+1
Andersonville
MacKinlay Kantor1955
An ensemble cast experiences the conditions of a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. It follows prisoners, guards, and local civilians.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
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3 more ↓ ↑
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The Ghost Road
Pat Barker1995
During the final months of WWI, an officer returns to the front while his doctor reflects on the war. It concludes the Regeneration Trilogy.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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- pace0prose0bleak+1
Tree of Smoke
Denis Johnson2007
An ensemble cast navigate the Vietnam War through CIA operations and ground combat. The narrative spans years and multiple countries.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Undertaking
Audrey Magee2014
A German soldier and a woman marry by proxy to secure leave and a pension. The narrative follows his time at the front and her life in Berlin.
elegiac → cold, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
