LitQueuelitqueue

After

We need to talk about Kevin

Lionel Shriver2003

5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier

More like it

1 more ↓

  • Eileen

    Ottessa Moshfegh2015

    A woman working at a juvenile prison in 1960s New England lives a life of squalor. Her routine is broken by a new coworker and a sudden crime.

    cold → sardonic, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak-1

Denser prose

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.

    cold → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2

  • 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.

    cold → elegiac, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • Briefing for a Descent into Hell

    Doris Lessing1971

    A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.

    cold → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

    Kelly Harms2019

    An overworked single mother takes a summer break in New York City for a makeover and a dating life. She rediscovers her identity apart from her kids.

    cold → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3

  • Thoughtful

    S.C. Stephens2015

    Kellan Kyle falls for his best friend's girlfriend, Anna. The story retells the events of Thoughtless from Kellan's perspective.

    cold → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3

  • Redshirts

    John Scalzi2012

    Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.

    cold → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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+2·prose-2·bleak-3

  • Behind Closed Doors

    B.A. Paris2016

    A woman is held captive by her husband in a high-security home. She must find a way to escape before her sister moves in with them.

    cold → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Along Came a Spider

    James Patterson1993

    Detective Alex Cross hunts a private school teacher who kidnapped two high-profile students. The kidnapper mimics famous historical crimes.

    cold → propulsive, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • 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-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Gilead

    Marilynne Robinson2004

    An elderly preacher in 1950s Iowa writes a letter to his young son about their family history. He reflects on his father and grandfather.

    cold → meditative, still epistolary

    pace-1·prose0·bleak-2