LitQueuelitqueue

After

Gravity's Rainbow

Thomas Pynchon1973

5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser

More like it

1 more ↓

  • The Blind Assassin

    Margaret Atwood2000

    An elderly woman reflects on her sister's suicide in 1945. The book contains a novel-within-a-novel that mirrors their family history.

    Same sardonic register, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose-1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Neon Gods

    Katee Robert2021

    In a modern city-state, Persephone flees an arranged marriage to Zeus by entering the underworld. She strikes a deal with Hades to stay there.

    sardonic → tense

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Starter Villain

    John Scalzi2023

    A substitute teacher inherits his uncle's secret supervillain business, including a volcano lair and talking cats.

    sardonic → wry

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

  • Playing with Fire

    Gena Showalter2006

    A barista gains elemental superpowers after being poisoned and must flee from a government agent. They eventually work together to escape.

    sardonic → playful

    pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Child 44

    Tom Rob Smith2008

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

    sardonic → tense

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • 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.

    Same sardonic register, still satire

    pace+2·prose-3·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.

    sardonic → propulsive

    pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2

Slower

sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction

3 more ↓

  • Lila

    Marilynne Robinson2014

    A woman with a traumatic, nomadic past settles in a small Iowa town and marries a minister. She struggles to reconcile her history with his faith.

    sardonic → tender, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • 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.

    sardonic → meditative, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • The Pale King

    David Foster Wallace2011

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

    Same sardonic register, still satire

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Heavier

sardonic → 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.

    sardonic → meditative, still historical fiction

    pace0·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.

    sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose-1·bleak+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.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1