LitQueuelitqueue

After

When the Moon is Low

Nadia Hashimi2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same earnest register, still historical fiction

1 more ↓

  • We Were the Lucky Ones

    Georgia Hunter2017

    A Jewish family in Poland is scattered across the globe at the start of WWII and attempts to survive and reunite.

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

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.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Wake

    Paul Kingsnorth2014

    A landowner in 1066 leads a guerrilla resistance against Norman invaders. The story is written in a modified version of Old English.

    earnest → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    earnest → sardonic, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

To recover

earnest → playful

3 more ↓

  • A Veiled Deception

    Annette Blair2009

    A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • It Starts with Us

    Colleen Hoover2022

    A single mother navigates a new relationship with her first love while managing a jealous ex-husband. The story alternates perspectives.

    Same earnest register

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Assistant to the Villain

    Hannah Nicole Maehrer2023

    A woman takes a job as an administrative assistant to a local villain to support her family. She manages his office while ignoring his evil deeds.

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak-1

  • 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.

    earnest → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    earnest → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace-2·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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-2·prose+2·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.

    earnest → clinical

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak0

Heavier

earnest → bleak, still historical fiction

3 more ↓

  • The Known World

    Edward P. Jones2003

    A black man who was once a slave becomes a slave owner in antebellum Virginia. The story follows the fallout on the plantation after his death.

    earnest → meditative, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • A Long Long Way

    Sebastian Barry2005

    A young Irishman joins the British Army to fight in the trenches of World War I while his home country moves toward rebellion.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Brotherless Night

    V. V. Ganeshananthan2023

    A young woman in Sri Lanka tries to study medicine while her brothers join militant groups during the civil war. It covers a decade of conflict.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1