LitQueuelitqueue

After

Woman of god

James Patterson2016

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • End Game

    David Baldacci2017

    Two government assassins travel to a remote Colorado town to find their missing handler and uncover a local conspiracy.

    earnest → propulsive, still conspiracy

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Blood on the dining-room floor

    Gertrude Stein1948

    A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • The Doves Necklace

    Raja Alem2014

    A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+1

  • American Psycho

    Bret Easton Ellis1991

    A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.

    earnest → cold

    pace-1·prose+3·bleak+2

To recover

3 more ↓

  • The Game of Life and How to Play It

    Florence Scovel Shinn1925

    A 1925 guide to spiritual success through positive thinking and the law of attraction. It uses biblical anecdotes to explain prosperity.

    Same earnest register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Mere Christianity

    C.S. Lewis1943

    A series of radio transcripts explaining the core tenets of the Christian faith. It uses logic and analogy to define common moral ground.

    Same earnest register

    pace-1·prose+1·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·prose0·bleak-1

Faster

earnest → propulsive

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

  • Dark Matter

    Blake Crouch2016

    A physics professor is kidnapped and wakes up in an alternate reality where he chose career over family. He must navigate the multiverse to return.

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak0

  • You

    Caroline Kepnes2014

    A bookstore manager becomes obsessed with a customer and uses social media to orchestrate a relationship. He removes obstacles through murder.

    earnest → sardonic

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak-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.

    earnest → playful

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak0

  • A maça no escuro

    Clarice Lispector1961

    A man flees into the Brazilian interior believing he killed his wife. He works on a remote farm while navigating his own internal monologue.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-2·prose+3·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • In Cold Blood

    Truman Capote1965

    A reconstruction of the 1959 murder of a Kansas family and the subsequent investigation. It follows both the victims and the killers.

    earnest → clinical

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Lord of the Flies

    William Golding1954

    Schoolboys are stranded on an island and try to organize a society. Order collapses into tribalism and violence.

    earnest → tense

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    earnest → tense

    pace0·prose+2·bleak+2