LitQueuelitqueue

After

Under the Eye of the Big Bird

Hiromi Kawakami2025

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Bone People

    Keri Hulme1984

    A reclusive artist, a mute boy, and a drifter form a volatile bond on the New Zealand coast. The narrative incorporates Maori myth and language.

    Same dreamlike register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Prophet Song

    Paul Lynch2023

    A mother struggles to keep her family together in Dublin as Ireland descends into a totalitarian police state. The prose uses no paragraph breaks.

    dreamlike → tense, still dystopian

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    dreamlike → sardonic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

dreamlike → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    dreamlike → wry

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    dreamlike → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Get Jiro!

    Anthony Bourdain2012

    In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.

    dreamlike → sardonic, still dystopian

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith2008

    A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.

    dreamlike → tense

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • 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.

    dreamlike → sardonic

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

    The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

    dreamlike → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

    dreamlike → clinical

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    dreamlike → elegiac

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The New Wilderness

    Diane Cook2020

    A mother and daughter join a group living in the last remaining wilderness to escape a polluted city. They must survive the land and each other.

    dreamlike → bleak, still dystopian

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • To Paradise

    Hanya Yanagihara2022

    Three stories set in 1893, 1993, and 2093 explore alternate versions of New York. Characters deal with illness, family legacies, and totalitarianism.

    dreamlike → elegiac, still dystopian

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Oryx and Crake

    Margaret Atwood2003

    A man survives a genetic apocalypse in a world of engineered creatures. He remembers his past with a scientist and the woman they both loved.

    dreamlike → sardonic, still dystopian

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1