Master Georgie

Notes on a Scandal

Zoë Heller2003

An older teacher documents her colleague's affair with a student. The narrator's own obsession and manipulation drive the story.

Same sardonic register, still unreliable narrator

pace0·prose0·bleak0

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.

sardonic → propulsive, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

The Wake

Paul Kingsnorth2014

A landowner in 1066 leads a guerrilla resistance against Norman invaders. The story is written in a modified version of Old English.

sardonic → bleak, still historical fiction

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.

sardonic → playful

pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.

sardonic → tense

pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline2008

A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

sardonic → wry

pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

Same sardonic 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.

sardonic → propulsive

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

The Martian

Andy Weir2011

A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

sardonic → wry

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

pace-2·prose0·bleak0

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.

sardonic → playful

pace-2·prose+1·bleak-1

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-2·prose0·bleak-1

The Ghost Road

Pat Barker1995

During the final months of WWI, an officer returns to the front while his doctor reflects on the war. It concludes the Regeneration Trilogy.

sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

Tree of Smoke

Denis Johnson2007

An ensemble cast navigate the Vietnam War through CIA operations and ground combat. The narrative spans years and multiple countries.

sardonic → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

The Undertaking

Audrey Magee2014

A German soldier and a woman marry by proxy to secure leave and a pension. The narrative follows his time at the front and her life in Berlin.

sardonic → cold, still historical fiction

pace0·prose-1·bleak+1