LitQueuelitqueue

After

Skeletons at the Feast

Chris Bohjalian2008

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

Same tense register, still historical fiction

1 more ↓

  • Those Who Save Us

    Jenna Blum2004

    A history professor investigates her mother’s hidden life in Nazi Germany, centering on a photograph of a high-ranking SS officer.

    tense → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • Doktor Faustus

    Thomas Mann1948

    A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

    tense → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • The Tin Drum

    Günter Grass1963

    A boy in 1920s Danzig decides to stop growing at age three. He observes the rise of Nazism and the war while screaming and playing a toy drum.

    tense → sardonic

    pace-1·prose+2·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.

    tense → bleak

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

tense → playful

3 more ↓

  • The Martian

    Andy Weir2011

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

    tense → wry

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • The Comfort Book

    Matt Haig2021

    A collection of short reflections, lists, and anecdotes intended to provide mental support. It is a non-linear book of philosophy and memoir.

    tense → warm

    pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Odessa Sea

    Clive Cussler2016

    Dirk Pitt investigates a ghost ship in the Black Sea and discovers a conspiracy involving a lost Romanov secret. It is a high-speed adventure.

    tense → propulsive

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    tense → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    tense → playful

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    tense → earnest

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2

Slower

tense → elegiac, still historical fiction

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.

    tense → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Absalom, Absalom!

    William Faulkner1936

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

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

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

    tense → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Mila 18

    Leon Uris1961

    Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto organize an armed uprising against Nazi occupiers during World War II.

    tense → propulsive, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

    Tadeusz Borowski1967

    Short stories based on the author's time in Auschwitz. The narrator describes the daily logistics of the Holocaust with detached indifference.

    tense → cold, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • Every Man Dies Alone

    Hans Fallada2010

    A working-class couple in WWII Berlin leaves anonymous postcards against the Nazi regime while a Gestapo inspector hunts them down the source.

    tense → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1