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After

Daughters of the House

Michèle Roberts1992

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same elegiac register, still historical

1 more ↓

  • The Betrayal

    Helen Dunmore2010

    In 1952 Leningrad, a doctor and his wife are targeted by the Soviet state. They must navigate the paranoia of Stalin's final months.

    elegiac → tense, still historical

    pace0·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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+1·prose+1·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.

    elegiac → playful

    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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Wish you were here

    Rita Mae Brown1990

    A small-town postmistress investigates a series of murders linked by mysterious postcards. Her cat and dog provide their own perspective.

    elegiac → warm

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Trouble With Magic

    Madelyn Alt2006

    A shop clerk in a small town discovers she has heritage in witchcraft while investigating a local murder.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • A Deadly Grind

    Victoria Hamilton2012

    A vintage kitchenware collector finds a body in her new shop. She investigates her neighbors in a small town to clear her name.

    elegiac → warm

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Ivanhoe

    Walter Scott1800

    A Saxon knight returns to 12th-century England to win back his inheritance and the woman he loves amidst Norman conflict.

    elegiac → epic, still historical

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak-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.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+2·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.

    elegiac → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

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.

    Same elegiac register

    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.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • 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.

    Same elegiac register

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Underground Railroad

    Colson Whitehead2016

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

    elegiac → bleak

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • Oryx and Crake

    Margaret Atwood2003

    A man survives a genetic apocalypse in a world of engineered creatures. He remembers his past with a scientist and the woman they both loved.

    elegiac → sardonic

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • A Little Life

    Hanya Yanagihara2015

    Four friends in New York over thirty years. One of them is being destroyed, and the book does not look away.

    elegiac → bleak

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1