Oscar and Lucinda

The Line of Beauty

Alan Hollinghurst2004

A young man moves into the home of a Conservative MP in 1980s London. He pursues aesthetics and romance while the AIDS crisis begins to emerge.

wry → elegiac, still historical fiction

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.

wry → propulsive, 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.

wry → playful, still literary fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak-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.

wry → sardonic, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·bleak0

This Man

Jodi Ellen Malpas2013

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

wry → tense

pace+1·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+2·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.

Same wry register

pace+1·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.

wry → 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.

wry → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

The Martian

Andy Weir2011

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

Same wry register

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

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.

wry → tender, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak-1

Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner1936

The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.

wry → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Rhine Journey

Ann Schlee1981

A middle-aged woman travels by steamer down the Rhine in 1851. She observes her family and internalizes a chance encounter with a man from her past.

wry → meditative, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak0

The Prophets

Robert Jones Jr.2021

Two enslaved men on a Mississippi plantation find refuge in their love for each other. Their relationship is threatened by a betrayal.

wry → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

The Deposition of Father McGreevy

Brian O'Doherty2000

A priest recounts the physical and moral decline of an isolated Irish village during a harsh winter in the 1940s.

wry → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

A Fine Balance

Rohinton Mistry1995

Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.

wry → bleak, still historical fiction

pace0·prose-1·bleak+1