LitQueuelitqueue

After

Another roadside attraction

Tom Robbins1971

5 of 6 directions open — nothing to recover from

More like it

1 more ↓

  • A Confederacy of Dunces

    John Kennedy Toole1980

    An eccentric, misanthropic man living with his mother in New Orleans is forced to find a job. He encounters various local subcultures.

    Same playful register, still satire

    pace+1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • A Brief History of Seven Killings

    Marlon James2014

    A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+1·prose+1·bleak+3

  • 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.

    Same playful register

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    playful → elegiac

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Get Jiro!

    Anthony Bourdain2012

    In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.

    playful → sardonic, still satire

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1

  • Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith2008

    A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.

    playful → tense

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+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.

    playful → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • A Fable

    William Faulkner1954

    During WWI, a French corporal leads a mutiny that halts the fighting. The narrative mirrors the events of the Passion of Christ.

    playful → meditative, still philosophical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

  • In Search of Lost Time

    Marcel Proust2001

    A narrator examines his life through involuntary memories triggered by sensory experiences. It spans seven volumes of social observation.

    playful → meditative, still philosophical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Pale King

    David Foster Wallace2011

    An unfinished, experimental novel about the mundane daily operations of an IRS processing center in 1985 Illinois.

    playful → sardonic, still satire

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+2

Heavier

playful → sardonic, still satire

3 more ↓

  • Schopenhauer's Telescope

    Gerard Donovan2003

    Two men stand over a grave in a war-torn village, debating history and philosophy. One is the prisoner digging; the other is his executioner.

    playful → tense, still philosophical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+3

  • 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.

    playful → bleak

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+3

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

    Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.

    playful → bleak

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+3