LitQueuelitqueue

After

Seeing Ghosts

Kat Chow2021

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same elegiac register, still memoir

1 more ↓

  • When Breath Becomes Air

    Paul Kalanithi2016

    A neurosurgeon diagnosed with terminal lung cancer writes about his transition from doctor to patient and his search for meaning.

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • No Archive Will Restore You

    Julietta Singh2018

    The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

    elegiac → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • The Gulag Archipeligo 1918-1956: An Experiment In Literary Investigation I - Ii.

    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

    A history of the Soviet forced labor camp system based on survivor reports and the author's own imprisonment. It documents state-run repression.

    elegiac → bleak, still memoir

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+2

To recover

elegiac → warm, still memoir

3 more ↓

  • Nobody Will Tell You This But Me

    Bess Kalb2020

    A granddaughter writes a memoir in the voice of her deceased grandmother. The book uses real voicemails and family stories to recreate her persona.

    elegiac → tender, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • Twenties Girl

    Sophie Kinsella2009

    Lara is visited by the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie, who appears as a 1920s flapper. They search for a missing necklace and chase a former lover.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Unfinished

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas2021

    The actress details her childhood in India, her time in American schools, and her transition from pageantry to a global film career.

    elegiac → earnest, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Faster

3 more ↓

  • House to House: An Epic Memoir of War

    David Bellavia

    An American infantry sergeant provides a room-by-room account of the Second Battle of Fallujah. It focuses on close-quarters urban combat.

    elegiac → tense, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor

    Clinton Romesha

    A Medal of Honor recipient provides a tactical account of the 2009 Battle of Kamdesh at Combat Outpost Keating.

    elegiac → propulsive, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

  • Lions of Kandahar: The Story of a Fight Against All Odds

    Rusty Bradley

    A Special Forces officer recounts the 2006 battle for Sperwan Ghar. The focus is on tactical decisions during a multi-day engagement.

    elegiac → propulsive, still memoir

    pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • No Archive Will Restore You

    Julietta Singh2018

    The author examines the history of her own body through the lens of race, desire, and pain. It is a collection of fragments and academic theory.

    elegiac → meditative, still memoir

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    elegiac → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

Heavier

elegiac → bleak, still memoir

3 more ↓

  • Wasted

    Marya Hornbacher1998

    A detailed memoir of the author's decade-long struggle with anorexia and bulimia. It documents hospitalizations and the physical decay of the body.

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+2

  • A House in the Sky

    Amanda Lindhout2013

    A freelance journalist is kidnapped in Somalia and held for fifteen months. The memoir details her captivity and the conditions she endured.

    elegiac → tense, still memoir

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2

  • A River in Darkness

    Masaji Ishikawa2018

    A man describes his thirty-six years living in North Korea after moving there from Japan. He recounts extreme poverty and his eventual escape.

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+2