After
J
Howard Jacobson2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Water Cure
Sophie Mackintosh2018
Three sisters live on an isolated island where their father subjects them to painful rituals to 'purify' them from the outside world.
cold → dreamlike, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood1985
In a totalitarian state with a plummeting birth rate, a woman is enslaved as a reproductive vessel. She records her daily life and memories.
Same cold register, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Memory Police
Yoko Ogawa1994
Objects vanish from an island and from the residents' memories. A novelist hides her editor from the police who enforce the disappearances.
cold → elegiac, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The New Wilderness
Diane Cook2020
A mother and daughter join a group living in the last remaining wilderness to escape a polluted city. They must survive the land and each other.
cold → bleak, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
To Paradise
Hanya Yanagihara2022
Three stories set in 1893, 1993, and 2093 explore alternate versions of New York. Characters deal with illness, family legacies, and totalitarianism.
cold → elegiac, still dystopian
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
cold → bleak, still dystopian
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
cold → clinical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-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.
cold → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
cold → propulsive
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
cold → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection
Carol Burnett2010
The comedian shares anecdotes from her career in television and film. The book is a series of short chronological reflections.
cold → warm
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
cold → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-2
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.
cold → sardonic, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Pines
Blake Crouch2012
A Secret Service agent searches for missing colleagues in an Idaho town he cannot leave. The townspeople and physics itself seem to work against him.
cold → tense, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Red Rising
Pierce Brown2014
A laborer on Mars discovers his caste is being lied to and undergoes surgery to infiltrate the ruling elite. He joins a brutal war games academy.
cold → propulsive, still dystopian
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
cold → bleak, still dystopian
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
cold → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
cold → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-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.
cold → clinical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-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.
cold → elegiac
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
