After
No Longer Human
太宰 治2024
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Lighthouse
Alison Moore2012
A recently separated man takes a walking tour of Germany while reflecting on his childhood abandonment and his failing marriage.
Same bleak register, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Gathering
Anne Enright2007
A woman gathers with her siblings in Dublin for her brother's wake. She reconstructs a childhood trauma to understand his suicide.
bleak → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Sea, the Sea
Iris Murdoch1978
A retired theater director writes a memoir in a house by the sea while becoming obsessed with a past lover he finds in the village.
bleak → sardonic, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Woman Upstairs
Claire Messud2013
A schoolteacher becomes obsessed with the family of one of her students. She documents her growing resentment and their eventual betrayal.
bleak → sardonic, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak0
My Dark Vanessa
Kate Elizabeth Russell2020
Vanessa reflects on her teenage relationship with a teacher after he is accused of abuse. The narrative shifts between 2000 and 2017.
Same bleak register, still psychological fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Briefing for a Descent into Hell
Doris Lessing1971
A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.
bleak → dreamlike, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Conservationist
Nadine Gordimer1974
A wealthy white industrialist buys a farm outside Johannesburg. He struggles to maintain control over the land and the people on it.
bleak → cold, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Study for Obedience
Sarah Bernstein2023
A woman moves to a remote northern country to care for her brother. The local community grows hostile as she observes them.
bleak → cold, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Tinkers
Paul Harding2009
An elderly clock repairman lies dying while his thoughts drift through his father's life as a peddler. The prose focuses on nature and mechanics.
bleak → meditative, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
Milkman
Anna Burns2018
An unnamed 18-year-old girl is stalked by an older paramilitary figure in 1970s Northern Ireland. The prose uses long, circuitous sentences.
bleak → tense, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Thoughtful
S.C. Stephens2015
Kellan Kyle falls for his best friend's girlfriend, Anna. The story retells the events of Thoughtless from Kellan's perspective.
bleak → earnest
pace+1·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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → 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.
bleak → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- 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.
bleak → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-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.
bleak → sardonic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- 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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·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.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
Tinkers
Paul Harding2009
An elderly clock repairman lies dying while his thoughts drift through his father's life as a peddler. The prose focuses on nature and mechanics.
bleak → meditative, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
February
Lisa Moore2009
A widow in Newfoundland moves between her quiet daily routines and the memory of her husband's death on a sunken oil rig decades earlier.
bleak → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The Wilderness
Samantha Harvey2009
An architect with Alzheimer's attempts to reconstruct his life story. The narrative fragments as his memory and sense of time dissolve.
bleak → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
Study for Obedience
Sarah Bernstein2023
A woman moves to a remote northern country to care for her brother. The local community grows hostile as she observes them.
bleak → cold, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
The Next Big Thing
Anita Brookner2002
A seventy-three-year-old man in London contemplates his few remaining options for the future. He considers travel, marriage, and his isolation.
bleak → meditative, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
