After
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
Beth Brower2024
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from, nothing slower
More like it
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
A tree grows in Brooklyn
Betty Smith1943
Francie Nolan grows up in the slums of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 1900s. The story follows her education and her family's poverty.
Same tender register, still coming of age
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Foster
Claire Keegan1900
A young girl from a crowded home is sent to live with a childless couple on an Irish farm. She experiences a different style of parenting.
Same tender register, still coming of age
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri2004
The son of Indian immigrants struggles with his identity and his unusual name while growing up in America. It spans from his birth to adulthood.
Same tender register, still coming of age
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+1
The Book of Form and Emptiness
Ruth Ozeki2021
A boy begins to hear the voices of inanimate objects after his father dies. He finds refuge in a public library with a book that talks to him.
Same tender register, still literary
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
A sport and a pastime
James Salter1967
An unnamed narrator observes the sexual affair between an American college dropout and a French girl in 1960s France.
tender → dreamlike, still literary
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
- pace+1prose+2bleak+2
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.
tender → sardonic
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose+2bleak+3
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.
tender → propulsive
pace+2·prose+2·bleak+3
- pace0prose+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.
tender → playful
pace0·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose+2bleak+3
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.
tender → elegiac
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+3
Faster
- pace+3prose-1bleak0
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.
tender → playful
pace+3·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+3prose0bleak+2
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
tender → tense
pace+3·prose0·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose0bleak+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.
tender → sardonic
pace+3·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+3prose-1bleak0
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.
tender → propulsive
pace+3·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+3prose-1bleak0
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
tender → wry
pace+3·prose-1·bleak0
Heavier
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
Bewilderment
Richard Powers2021
An astrobiologist uses experimental neurofeedback to treat his son's emotional outbursts while they mourn the boy's mother.
tender → elegiac, still literary
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+1prose+2bleak+3
The Road
Cormac McCarthy2006
A father and son walk through a landscape of ash and scavengers toward the coast. They carry only what fits in a shopping cart.
tender → bleak, still literary
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose+1bleak+3
The Association of Small Bombs
Karan Mahajan2016
The narrative follows the victims, survivors, and perpetrators of a terrorist bombing in Delhi. It examines the long-term psychological fallout.
tender → bleak, still literary
pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3
- pace+2prose+1bleak+3
- pace+2prose+1bleak+3
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
tender → bleak
pace+2·prose+1·bleak+3
