After
What Kind of Paradise
Janelle Brown2025
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
eerie → dreamlike, still literary
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Overstory
Richard Powers2018
Nine strangers are connected by their unique relationships with trees. The narrative spans decades as they converge to protect a forest.
eerie → elegiac, still literary
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak-1
Dream Count
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie2025
Four women navigate love, career, and family across Nigeria and America. The narrative focuses on their internal reflections and shared history.
eerie → tender, still literary
pace0·prose-1·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
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The Spinning Heart
Donal Ryan2001
Twenty-one different narrators describe the aftermath of the Irish financial crash in a small town. The story centers on a local construction boss.
eerie → elegiac, still literary
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
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.
eerie → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
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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.
eerie → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
eerie → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
eerie → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
eerie → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
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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.
eerie → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
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Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
eerie → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
eerie → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
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.
eerie → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
eerie → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
eerie → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
eerie → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
eerie → clinical
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
eerie → bleak
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
A Passage North
Anuk Arudpragasam2021
Krishan travels by train from Colombo to a funeral in northern Sri Lanka. He spends the journey reflecting on a past love and the civil war.
eerie → meditative, still literary
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
Heavier
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Bewilderment
Richard Powers2021
An astrobiologist uses experimental neurofeedback to treat his son's emotional outbursts while they mourn the boy's mother.
eerie → elegiac, still literary
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose0bleak+1
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.
eerie → bleak, still literary
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
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.
eerie → bleak, still literary
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
eerie → bleak
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
