LitQueuelitqueue

After

Ursula

Honoré de Balzac2005

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Imaginary Friend

    Stephen Chbosky2019

    A boy returns from the woods after being missing for six days. He begins a massive construction project directed by an invisible voice.

    Same earnest register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

Denser prose

earnest → dreamlike

3 more ↓

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    earnest → dark

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    earnest → cold

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Ghost Stories

    Henry James2001

    A collection of Victorian tales where the existence of ghosts is often left to the reader's interpretation.

    earnest → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The case of the beautiful beggar

    Erle Stanley Gardner1960

    Perry Mason helps a woman whose uncle's bank account has been drained. When the uncle is committed to a sanitarium, Mason enters the courtroom.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Two-Dollar bill

    Stuart Woods2005

    Attorney Stone Barrington deals with a flamboyant Texas con man who is being pursued by the CIA.

    earnest → wry

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • The Christmas thief

    Mary Higgins Clark2004

    Two amateur sleuths investigate the theft of a massive Christmas tree and a hidden stash of diamonds. It is a holiday-themed caper.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    earnest → bleak

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+2

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    earnest → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • The Executioner

    Chris Carter2010

    A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.

    earnest → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

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

    earnest → elegiac

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

earnest → elegiac

3 more ↓

  • Hamlet

    William Shakespeare

    A prince of Denmark is told by a ghost that his uncle killed his father. He feigns madness while deciding whether to take revenge.

    earnest → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

  • The Terror

    Dan Simmons2007

    Two British ships searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845 become trapped in ice and are hunted by a creature.

    earnest → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+2

  • The Lottery

    Shirley Jackson1983

    Villagers gather for an annual ritual in a small town. The story follows the procedural steps of a lottery that ends in a public execution.

    earnest → cold

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2