After
Razorblade Tears
S.A. Cosby2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing faster
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
She rides shotgun
Jordan Harper2017
An ex-convict and his eleven-year-old daughter go on the run from a white supremacist gang. He teaches her how to survive a life of crime.
Same propulsive register, still noir
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The business of dying
Simon Kernick2003
A corrupt detective kills three men in a paid hit, only to realize he was tricked into murdering innocent people. He must evade his own precinct.
Same propulsive register, still noir
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Leather maiden
Joe R. Lansdale2008
An Iraq war veteran returns to his East Texas hometown and investigates a cold case murder involving his own brother.
propulsive → sardonic, still southern gothic
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
City of Dreams
Don Winslow2023
A mobster flees Rhode Island for Hollywood after a bloody gang war. He tries to build a new life while his past and the feds close in.
Same propulsive register, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
UNSUB
Meg Gardiner2017
A narcotics detective joins a task force to catch a serial killer who obsessed her father twenty years earlier. The killer uses cryptic codes.
Same propulsive register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
Amberes
Roberto Bolaño2002
A fragmented series of fifty-six short sections follows a police officer, a redhead, and a hunchback through a series of loosely linked crimes.
propulsive → cold, still noir
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh1993
A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.
propulsive → sardonic, still noir
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
My Name Is Red
Orhan Pamuk
In 1591 Istanbul, miniaturists investigate a colleague's murder. Objects and colors narrate chapters alongside the human characters.
propulsive → meditative
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-2prose+2bleak0
The Doves Necklace
Raja Alem2014
A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-2·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
Same propulsive register
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
And One Last Thing...
Molly Harper2010
After a public divorce, a woman moves to a small town to start over and finds herself pursued by a local deputy.
propulsive → wry
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Perfection
R.L. Mathewson2011
A woman tries to ignore her neighbor, a man with a massive appetite who constantly steals her food. They bicker until a relationship forms.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon2002
An immortal warrior and a skeptical accountant are handcuffed together while being hunted by supernatural predators.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Hot property
Sandra Brown2008
A publicist tries to repair the reputation of a disgraced baseball player while dealing with his intrusive family. It is a lighthearted romance.
propulsive → playful
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-3prose+2bleak-1
Blood on the dining-room floor
Gertrude Stein1948
A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-3prose+2bleak+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.
propulsive → elegiac, still southern gothic
pace-3·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-3prose+2bleak0
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
propulsive → dreamlike
pace-3·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-3prose+2bleak-2
Gödel, Escher, Bach
Douglas R. Hofstadter1979
An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-2
- pace-3prose+2bleak-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.
propulsive → playful
pace-3·prose+2·bleak-1
Heavier
propulsive → bleak, still southern gothic
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
The Devil All the Time
Donald Ray Pollock2011
Interconnected stories of a veteran, serial killers, and a corrupt preacher in post-WWII Appalachia. It is a series of violent encounters.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak+1
Galveston
Nic Pizzolatto2010
A dying hitman flees to a Texas beach town with a young woman and a child. He attempts to hide from his former boss while his health fails.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Horace McCoy1935
Two strangers enter a grueling 1930s dance marathon for prize money. The narrative is framed by a murder trial.
propulsive → bleak, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Trainspotting
Irvine Welsh1993
A group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh navigate poverty, violence, and withdrawal. The narrative uses heavy phonetic Scottish dialect.
propulsive → sardonic, still noir
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
The Killer Inside Me
Jim Thompson1952
A small-town Texas deputy maintains a boring public persona to hide his identity as a serial killer. He describes his crimes in a flat, cold voice.
propulsive → cold, still noir
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
