After
The Undertaking
Audrey Magee2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Master Georgie
Beryl Bainbridge1998
A surgeon, his maid, and his brother-in-law travel from Liverpool to the front lines of the Crimean War.
cold → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
Mark T. Sullivan2017
An Italian teenager joins an underground railroad for Jews before being recruited to spy on a high-ranking Nazi general. Based on a true story.
cold → earnest, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Andersonville
MacKinlay Kantor1955
An ensemble cast experiences the conditions of a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. It follows prisoners, guards, and local civilians.
cold → bleak, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Mila 18
Leon Uris1961
Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto organize an armed uprising against Nazi occupiers during World War II.
cold → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+2bleak-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.
cold → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace0prose+2bleak0
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.
cold → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
cold → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
cold → bleak
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
To recover
cold → playful
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace0prose-1bleak-3
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
pace0·prose-1·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-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.
cold → warm
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
Odessa Sea
Clive Cussler2016
Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
cold → tense
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-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.
cold → sardonic
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-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.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-1bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-3
Slower
cold → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
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-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-2prose+1bleak-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.
pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-2prose+2bleak-1
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.
cold → clinical
pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
cold → bleak
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0