LitQueuelitqueue

After

Speaking of Summer

Kalisha Buckhanon2019

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • The Secret History

    Donna Tartt1992

    Six classics students at a Vermont college isolate themselves and commit a murder. The story follows the psychological fallout of their actions.

    Same elegiac register, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → cold

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

  • American Psycho

    Bret Easton Ellis1991

    A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.

    elegiac → cold, still unreliable narrator

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • This Girl

    Colleen Hoover2013

    A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Score

    Elle Kennedy2016

    A college senior has a one-night stand with a hockey player to get over a breakup. They continue the arrangement as graduation approaches.

    elegiac → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → earnest

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

elegiac → propulsive, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Verity

    Colleen Hoover2018

    A ghostwriter moves into a secluded estate to finish a series for an injured author and finds a hidden, disturbing autobiography.

    elegiac → tense, still psychological thriller

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak0

  • Angels & Demons

    Dan Brown2000

    A symbologist and a scientist race through Rome to stop an ancient secret society from destroying the Vatican. It takes place over 24 hours.

    elegiac → propulsive, still mystery

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

  • Behind Closed Doors

    B.A. Paris2016

    A woman is held captive by her husband in a high-security home. She must find a way to escape before her sister moves in with them.

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Slower

3 more ↓

  • 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.

    elegiac → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak0

  • 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-2

  • 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.

    elegiac → playful

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

Heavier

elegiac → tense, still psychological thriller

3 more ↓

  • Shutter Island

    Dennis Lehane2003

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Wasp Factory

    Iain Banks1984

    A teenager living on a remote island performs violent rituals while waiting for his brother to return from an asylum.

    elegiac → cold, still psychological thriller

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • Birdman

    Mo Hayder1999

    Detective Jack Caffery hunts a serial killer in London who performs surgical procedures on his victims while they are alive.

    elegiac → bleak, still psychological thriller

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1